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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



LIFE AMONG THE CHINESE : 



CHAEACTEEISTIC SKETCHES AND INCIDENTS 



MISSIONARY OPERATIONS AND PROSPECTS IN CHINA. 



7 
• / 
By Kev. E. S. MACLAY, M.A., 

THIRTEEN YEARS MISSIONARY TO CHINA FROM THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 






wmrrmmm 



PUBLISHED BY CARLTON & PORTER, 

200 MTJLBERKY-STKEET. 

jh *y*y i86i. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1861, by 
CARLTON & PORTER, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
Southern District of New-York. 



2-/ 14 









\ 



v 



PEEFACE. 



The important events which have transpired 
in China during the past few years have awak- 
ened, both in Europe and the United States, 
an unprecedented interest with reference to 
that ancient and remarkable empire. 

In the spring of 1858 the government of 
China formed treaties of amity and commerce 
with the respective governments of England, 
France, Eussia, and the United States. The 
provisions of these treaties are of the most 
liberal character, and initiate a new and most 
auspicious era in foreign intercourse with China. 
In 1859 the treacherous attack of the Chinese 
on the English fleet at the mouth of the Peiho 
seemed to jeopardize these cheering prospects ; 
but in 1860 the brilliant successes of the allies 
in the north of China, commencing with the 



6 PREFACE. 

destruction of the Taku forts, and terminating 
with the burning of the imperial summer 
palace near Pekin, dissipated all anxiety on 
this subject, and, by procuring additional priv- 
ileges and guarantees from the Chinese govern- 
ment, placed foreign relations with China on a 
basis which is likely to prove permanent and 
satisfactory to all parties. 

Coincident with the dawning of this new era 
in Chinese politics, we notice that the won- 
derful triumphs of steam navigation and tele- 
graphic communication are bringing into close 
proximity the most widely separated portions 
of the human family. There is now direct and 
continuous steam transit from New York to 
Jeddo. Calcutta, by telegraph, is only six days 
from London; and, by the proposed Pacific 
railroad through the United States, with its 
supplementary line of steamers across the Pa- 
cific, the traveler will be able to pass in twenty- 
two days from New York to China. 

The volume herewith offered to the reader 
contains the results of observations and re- 
searches during a residence of about twelve 



PEEFACB. 7 

years in China. Familiar intercourse with the 
people, the ability to converse freely with them 
in their own dialect, and personal visits to 
nearly all the cities open to foreign trade, gave 
the author ample opportunities for forming 
reliable opinions on the subjects he has dis- 
cussed, and he ventures to hope that the 
information communicated may prove accept- 
able to all classes of readers. 

The author begs to express his indebtedness, 
in the preparation of this volume, to the writ- * 
ings of Sir John Davis, Kev. Dr. Medhurst, 
Dr. S. W. Williams, Eev. M. S. Culbertson, 
Eev. J. EdMns, W. C. Milne, Esq., and others 
who have preceded him in this department 
of literary effort, and to their entertaining 
works he would refer the reader for fuller 
information concerning some of the topics dis- 
cussed in the following pages. 

To those whose earnest and oft-repeated sug- 
gestions induced the author to prepare this 
volume for publication, to those who are inter- 
ested in the evangelization of the Chinese, and 
to all who desire information concerning the 



8 PREFACE. 

oldest nation in the world and one of the 

grandest empires on which the sun has ever 

shone, the following pages are now presented, 

in the earnest hope and with the fervent prayer 

that they may contribute somewhat toward the 

ushering in of that glorious period when China, 

clothed and in her right mind, shall be found 

sitting at the feet of Jesus. 

E. S. Maclay. 

New Yoke, April 26, 1861. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I, 

GENERAL VIEW OF CHINA. 

Geographical Position — Internal Resources — Population — Farmer — 
"Holding the Plow" — Land-tenure — Farming Implements — Artisans 

— Gunpowder — Mariner's Compass — Variation of the Needle — In- 
flammable Gas — Table-turning, etc. — Scholar — Chinese Literature — 
Merchant — Early Intercourse with Foreign Nations — Exclusive Policy 

— Modern Foreign Intercourse — Scene on the Peiho — Soldier — Char- 
acteristics — Illustrative Incident Page 13 

CHAPTER II. 

ANCIENT RELIGIOUS FAITH OF THE CHINESE. 

Apparently anomalous Traits of Chinese Character — Ancient Chi- 
nese Civilization — Its Bible Origin — Traditional Knowledge of Bible 
History and Doctrines — Mythological History — Classics — Prayers to 
Shangti — Proverbs — Filial Piety — Marriage Institution — Longevity 
of Chinese Nation 34 

CHAPTER HI. 

HISTORY OF CHINA. 

Chinese Chronology versus the Mosaic — Opinions of Sir John Davis 
Rev. Dr. Medhurst, etc. — Summary of Chinese History — Embassies 
from Foreign Countries — Northern Tribes — Knowledge of China 
among Western Nations — Intercourse with the West — Portuguese, 
Dutch, English, Russians, and Americans in China 49 

CHAPTER IV. 

GOVERNMENT OF CHINA. 

The Emperor — Privy Council — Public Council— Board of Civil 
Oflice — Board of Kevenue — Board of Rites — Board of War — Board 
of Punishments — Board of Public Works — Colonial Oflice — Cen- 



10 CONTENTS. 

sorate — Court of Eepresentation — Court of Appeals — Imperial Col- 
lege — Provincial Governments — Nobility — Literary Degrees — Mu- 
nicipal Eegulations — Popular Outbreak in Pubcb.au Page 60 



CHAPTER V. 
LAWS OF CHINA. 

Classification — General — Civil — Fiscal — Eitual — Military — Crim- 
inal — Tbose relating to Public Works — Opinions on — Edinburgh 
Review — Dr. Williams — Administration — Safeguards — Official Cor- 
ruption — Magaillan's Testimony — Native Testimony — Illustrative In- 
cidents 84 

CHAPTER VI. 

RELIGIONS : CONFUCIANISM. 

General Classification — Confucianism — Eationalism — Budbism — 
Purport of eacb, and their Eelations to eacb otber — Sketch of Confu- 
cianism — Confucius — Doctrines — Worship — Account of Annual Wor- 
ship in Confucian Temple at Fuhchau 87 

CHAPTER VII. 

RELIGIONS: RATIONALISM AND BUDHISM. 

Sketch of Eationalism — Tau Teh King — Influence of the System — 
Budhism — Introduction to the Chinese — Doctrines — Priests — Tem- 
ples — Visit to the Zushan Monastery 100 

CHAPTER VIII. 
CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. 

Traits of Chinese Character — Permanence of Chinese Institutions — 
Cbinese Colonies — Emigration — Defects of Cbinese Character — Illus- 
trative Incidents 121 

CHAPTER IX. 

CITY OF FUHCHAU. 

Situation — Scenery — Walls — Public Buildings — Tartar Quarter — 
Nantai — Changchau — Southside — Bridges — Boat Population — Cli- 
mate — Foreign Trade — Methodist Episcopal Mission — Schedule of 
Missionaries 140 



CONTENTS. 11 

CHAPTER X. 

BUILDINGS, LAND-TENURE, ETC. 

First "Wants of a Mission — Native Houses — Building Materials — 
Foreign Title to Property in China — Copy of a Deed — First House 
fitted up by the Mission — First House built — Process of Building — 
Mission Compound Page 158 

CHAPTER XL 
TRIP INTO THE COUNTRY. 

Outfit — The River — Upper Bridge — Night Anchorage — Infanti- 
cide — Sugar Manufactory — Scene at Minching — Sunrise among the 
Mountains — The Rapids — Mountains — Return 178 

CHAPTER XII. 
PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 

Preaching in China — First Clapels — First substantial Protestant 
Church built in Fuhchau — The Building — Dedication — Second Church 

— First Convert — Progress of the "Work — Notices of Converts — Plan 
of the "Work — First Parsonage 193 

CHAPTER XIII. 

SCHOOLS. 

Day Schools for Boys — Boarding School for Boys — An Evening 
with the Scholars — Annual Reports of the School — Day School for 
Girls — Boarding School for Girls — Appeal for the Enterprise — Letters 
from Miss "Woolston 231 

CHAPTER XIV. 
JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 

Extracts from Journal — Edict from Pekin — Distributing Books, etc. 

— Incidents — A Cantonese killed by a Fuhchau "Woman — Singular 
Burial — Box from Home — Translations of Chinese Documents — Itin- 
erating in China 258 

CHAPTER XV. 

THE PEACH FARM. 

Sketch of the Peach Farm — First Visit — Preaching — Incidents of 
the "Work — Baptism of first Converts — A Sabbath at the Peach Farm 

— Pastoral Visits 287 



12 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

INCIDENTS. 

Incidents — Bible our Compass — Faith — Loving the Saviour — 
Learned Blacksmith — Swearing for the Family — "Whipping in 
Church — How much Money? — Influence of a Christian Life — Father 
Hu Page 303 

CHAPTER XVII. 
INCIDENTS. 
The OrphanBoy— The Young Artist— The Young Basket-maker. . 320 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 

Provisions of recent Treaties — Present Condition of China — Brief 
Resume" of Missionary Operations in China — Eesults — Encourage- 
ments 335 

CHAPTER XIX. 
APPEAL TO THE CHURCH. 
Wants of China — Demands of China— Reasons for Action 368 



ADDENDUM. 
Christian Chinese Wedding 395 



I PAGE 

Fibe Wells 26 

City or Fuhchau 141 

Changchau Island — First Methodist Episcopal Mission Premises 168 

First Dwelling-House built by the Mission 171 

Methodist Episcopal Mission Compound 176 

Iongtau Church. 196 

Interior of the Church at Iongtau 201 

English and Chinese Church at Tienang. 208 

Kgu Kang Parsonage. 223 

First Premises tor Boys' Academy 233 

First House for Girls' School 243 

Waugh Female Seminary 254 

Father Hu S15 



LIFE AMONG THE CHINESE. 



CHAPTEE I. 

GENERAL VIEW OF CHINA. 

A glance at a map of the world will show the 
interesting geographical position of the Chinese Em- 
pire. It occupies the southeastern portion of the 
continent of Asia, comprising an extent of territory- 
greater than that of all modern Europe, or about one 
tenth of the surface of the habitable globe. It 
stretches through some thirty-five degrees of latitude 
and about seventy degrees of longitude, from the 
Beloor Mountains on the west, to the sea of Jeddo on 
the east ; and from the great Altay Mountains on the 
north to the Gulf of Tonquin and the Himalaya Mount- 
ains on the south. The superficial area comprised 
within these limits is five millions of square miles, of 
which about one fifth lies within the tropics, and all 
the rest within the north temperate zone. It pos- 
sesses about two thousand miles of seacoast, affording 
some of the finest harbors in the world. Nearly one 
half of its southern frontier touches on the great 
empire of British India ; its northern and western 



14 GENERAL VIEW OF CHINA. 

boundaries are formed almost entirely by the Asiatic 
possessions of Russia; a few days' sail to the south- 
ward lies the vast continent of Australia ; while east- 
ward, across the Pacific, and within some ten days of 
its coast by steam navigation, it faces the western 
coast of the United States of America. 

The internal resources of China are almost bound- 
less ; the treasures of the mineral, animal, cereal, and 
vegetable kingdoms have been lavished upon her with 
profuse liberality. Gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, iron, 
coal, gypsum, limestone, the ruby, diamond, amethyst, 
garnet, opal, agate, and other stones, abound. Most 
of the animals, birds, and fishes found in the temper- 
ate zones, and many of those peculiar to the tropics, 
exist in China. Lions, tigers, leopards, etc., are now 
rarely met with; but the domestic animals, as the 
horse, cow, goat, sheep, pig, dog, cat, etc., abound. 
They have also the camel, wolf, fox, wild-cat, hare, 
rabbit, martin, ermine, silver-fox, ratel, wolverine, 
sea and land otter, squirrel, porcupine, hedgehog, 
marmot,* weasel, rat, mouse, etc. Less is known of the 
hwds of China than of its mammiferaa. "We may men- 
tion, however, the eagle, hawk, crow, magpie, pheas- 
ant, owl, butcher-bird, grackle, thrush, goat-sucker, 
swallow, sparrow, robin, cuckoo, jay, kingfisher, par- 
rot, peacock, dove, goose, duck, chicken, pigeon, 
snipe, plover, rice-bird, (a species of ortolan,) heron, 
egret, stork, curlew, cormorant, grebe, pelican, etc. 
The ichthyology of China is, perhaps, one of the rich- 
est in the world, comprising shark, ray, sturgeon, 
porpoise, torpedo, a kind of cod, salmon or bynni- 
carp, pomfret, sole, mackerel, shad, carp, eel, gold- 



GRAMINEOUS PLANTS. 15 

fish, sun-fish, yellow-fish, pipe-fish, pike, mullet, file- 
fish, anchovy, oyster, clam, prawn, shrimp, crab, 
craw-fish, cuttle-fish, etc. Among the gramineous 
plants cultivated in China we enumerate rice, wheat, 
barley, oats, millet, buckwheat, Indian-corn, sugar- 
cane, a coarse grass used for weaving floor-matting, 
and another kind used for fuel, hemp, tobacco, bam- 
boo, and palm. "The bamboo is cultivated about 
villages for its pleasant shade and beauty, and a grove 
furnishes from year to year culms of all sizes for the 
various uses to which it is applied. No plant imparts 
so oriental and rural an aspect to a garden or village 
as the clumps of this graceful and stately grass ; the 
stalks shoot up their wavy plumes to the height of 
fifty feet and upward, and swaying themselves to 
every breeze, form an object of great elegance, well 
befitting so useful a plant. 

"This plant may well be called useful, for it is 
applied by the Chinese to such a vast variety of pur- 
poses (some of them indeed better accomplished else- 
where by different materials) that it may justly be 
called their national plant. It is reared from shoots 
and suckers, but after it has once rooted is not much 
attended to. The common yellow species extends 
over all the southern and eastern provinces, but the 
varieties mentioned by Chinese writers amount . to 
sixty, of which the black skinned sort, used in mak- 
ing furniture, and the low, fine-branched one, afford- 
ing the slender twigs employed in the manufacture 
of writing pencils, are the best known. The tender 
shoots are cultivated for food, and are, when four or 
five inches high, boiled, pickled, and comfited; but 



16 GENERAL VIEW OF CHINA. 

not the ' tender buds and flowers, cut like asparagus,' 
as represented by Murray. The roots are carved 
into fantastic images of men, birds, monkeys, or mon- 
strous perversions of animated nature, cut into lan- 
tern-handles and canes, or turned into oval sticks for 
worshipers, to divine whether the gods will hear or 
refuse their petitions. The tapering culms are used 
for all purposes that poles can be applied to in carry- 
ing, supporting, propelling, and measuring, by the 
porter, the carpenter, and the boatman ; for the joists 
of houses and the ribs of sails, the shafts of spears and 
the wattles of hurdles, the tubes of aqueducts, and 
the handles and ribs of umbrellas and fans. 

" The leaves are sewed upon cords to make rain 
cloaks, swept into heaps to form manure, and matted 
into thatches to cover houses. Cut into splints and 
slivers of various sizes, the wood is worked into bas- 
kets and trays of every form and fancy, twisted 
into cables, plaited into awnings, and woven mats 
for scenery of the theater, the roofs of boats, and the 
casing of goods. The shavings, even, are picked into 
oakum, and mixed with those of rattan, to be stuffed 
into mattresses. The bamboo furnishes the bed for 
sleeping, and the couch for reclining ; the chopsticks 
for eating, the pipe for smoking, and the flute for 
entertaining ; a curtain to hang before the door, and 
a broom to sweep around it ; together with screens, 
stools, stands, and sofas for various uses of conven- 
ience and luxury in the house. The mattress to 
lie upon, the chair to sit upon, the table to dine from, 
food to eat, and fuel to cook it with, are alike de- 
rived from it : the ferule to govern the scholar, and 



TEEES. 17 

the book lie studies, both originate here. The taper- 
ing barrels of the sang, or organ, and the dreaded in- 
strument of the lictor, one to make harmony, and the 
other to strike dread ; the skewer to pin the hair, and 
the hat to screen the head ; the paper to write on, the 
pencil handle to write with, and the cup to hold the 
pencils ; the rule to measure lengths, the cup to guage 
quantities, and the bucket to draw water ; the bel- 
lows to blow the fire, and the bottle to retain the 
match ; the bird-cage and crab-net, the fish pole and 
sumpitan, the water wheel and eave-duct, wheel- 
barrow and hand-cart, etc., are one and all fur- 
nished or completed by this magnificent grass, whose 
graceful beauty when growing is comparable to its 
varied usefulness when cut down."* 

The trees of China embrace the pine, yew, cypress, 
willow, oak, chestnut, walnut, hazlenut, banian, cam- 
phor, olive, juniper, thuja, and some others. The 
vegetables comprise a large variety, though the qual- 
ity is inferior to that of the same kinds in the United 
States. Those most generally cultivated are peas, 
beans, tomatoes, cabbage, radish, cucumbers, onions, 
celery, carrot, water-caltrops, spinach, cockscomb, 
green basil, rhubarb, sweet potato, yam, etc. The 
fruits are abundant, but in most instances defi- 
cient in flavor. Orange, pumalo, pomegranate, pear, 
peach, plum, apple, (very inferior,) plantain, pineap- 
ple, mango, custard-apple, lichi, lungan, and other 
kinds abound. 

The population of China, according to the latest 
and most reliable information on this subject, 

* Middle Kingdom, vol ii, p. 216. 

2 



18 GENERAL VIEW OF CHINA. 

amounts to four hundred millions. It is difficult to 
form an adequate conception of snch a mass of hu- 
man beings. Comparing it with the populations of 
other portions of the earth's surface, we find that it 
exceeds the combined populations of Europe, Africa, 
and the entire continent of America. It constitutes, 
in fact, more than one third of the human race. 
This estimate is derived from the official papers of 
the Chinese government. In China the people fur- 
nish the data for the census returns of the govern- 
ment ; and as the government avails itself of these 
statistics of population in levying conscriptions for 
military service, and in demanding subsidies to re- 
plenish its exhausted exchequer, there is everything to 
induce the Chinese to understate rather than overstate 
the amount of their population. "We accept, then, as 
correct and reliable, the statement that there exist to- 
day within the Chinese empire at least one third of 
the human race. Says the Rev. M. S. Culbertson, 
while writing on this topic : " The mind cannot 
grasp the real import of so vast a number. Four 
hundred millions ! What does it mean % Count it. 
Night and day, without rest, or food, or sleep, you 
continue the weary work ; yet eleven days have passed 
before you have counted the first million, and more 
than as many years before the end of the tedious 
task can be reached." He also supposes this mighty 
multitude to take up its line of march in a grand 
procession, placed in single file at six feet apart, and 
marching at the rate of thirty miles a day, except on 
the Sabbath, which is given to rest. "Day after day 
the moving column advances, the head pushing on 



POPULATION. 19 

far toward the rising sun; now bridge the Pacific, 
now bridge the Atlantic. And now the Pacific is 
crossed, but still the long procession marches on, 
stretching across high mountains, and sunny plains, 
and broad rivers, through China and India, and the 
European kingdoms, and on again over the stormy 
bosom of the Atlantic. But the circuit of the world 
itself affords not standing room. The endless col- 
umn will double upon itself, and double again and 
again, and shall girdle the earth eighteen times be- 
fore the great reservoir which furnishes these num- 
berless multitudes is exhausted. Weeks and months 
and years roll away, and still they come, men, wo- 
men, and children. Since the march began the little 
child has become a man, and yet on they come, in 
unfailing numbers. ISTot till the end of forty-one 
years will the last of the long procession have 
passed." 

Four hundred millions ! "Who are they ? Our 
brethren; bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh. 
What are they ? Heathen, athwart whose gloomy 
night of error no ray of light ever shines ; idolaters, 
bowing down to senseless images, the workmanship 
of their own hands. What are they ? Men, created 
by God ; fallen, ruined, helpless ; victims, morally, of 
a foul and relentless malady ; sinking into guilt and 
woe unutterable, inconceivable ; immortals, objects of 
the divine compassion, subjects of Christ's mediation, 
into the mysteries of whose redemption angels de- 
sire to look, and for whose eternal salvation all heav- 
enly intelligences are moved with a profound and 
ceaseless solicitude. 



20 GENERAL VIEW OF CHINA. 

How are we to classify the Chinese ? What char- 
acter and position shall we assign them among the 
nations of the earth ? They are not savages ; they 
are not barbarians. Yiewed from a heathen stand- 
point, we mnst call them a civilized people ; viewed 
from a Christian standpoint, they are at least semi- 
civilized. They are a fixed, stationary people, not 
migratory or nomadic. They dwell in hamlets, 
towns, and immense cities, snccessive generations fol- 
lowing each other on the old manor or homestead. 
They possess social order, an educational system, and 
political government. They practice most of the in- 
dustrial arts, and produce nearly all the necessaries, 
together with many of the luxuries of life. Their 
writers on political economy distribute society into 
five classes : farmer, artisan, scholar, merchant, and 
soldier. 

The farmer is, theoretically, the first or most hon- 
orable class in Chinese society. At a very early 
period of their history the Chinese turned their at- 
tention to agriculture ; and in subsequent ages they 
apotheosized those ancient monarchs who first taught 
their subjects the rudiments of the art. Each suc- 
cessive dynasty seeks to stimulate the agricultural 
spirit and enterprise of the people, and to this day 
every emperor is required annually to perform the 
ceremony of "holding the plow" in a small plat of 
ground near Pekin, the capital of the empire. But, 
notwithstanding these advantages, Chinese agricul- 
ture, even in our day, is still in a primitive state, 
and, as a class, the farmers are not distinguished for 
enterprise or influence. As generally characteristic 



LAND TENUKE. 21 

of the members of this class, we may say they are ig- 
norant, superstitious, industrious, frugal, deferential to 
superiors, and furnish the nearest approximation to 
honesty that we meet with in Chinese society. 

"Notwithstanding the encouragement given to 
tillage, vast tracts of land still lie waste, some of it 
the most fertile in the country ; partly because the 
people have not the skill and capital to drain and 
render it productive, and partly because they have 
not sufficient security or prospect of remuneration to 
encourage them to make the necessary outlay. 

" Landed property is held in clans or families as 
much as possible, but it is not entailed, nor are over- 
grown estates frequent. The land is held as a free- 
hold so long as the sovereign receives his rent, which 
is estimated at about one tenth of the produce, and 
the proprietors record their names in the district 
magistrate's office as responsible for the tax, feeling 
themselves secure in the possession while that is paid. 
The paternal estate and the houses upon it descend 
to the eldest son, but his brothers can remain upon it 
with their families, and devise their portion in per- 
petuo to their children, or an amicable composition 
can be made. Daughters never inherit, nor can an 
adopted son of another clan succeed. A mortgagee 
must actually enter into possession of the property, 
and make himself personally responsible for the pay- 
ment of the taxes before his mortgage is valid. Un- 
less explicitly stated, the land can be redeemed any 
time within thirty years on payment of the original 
sum. Sections XC to C of the Code contain the laws 
relating to this subject, some of which bear a resem- 



22 GENERAL VIEW OF CHINA. 

blance to those established among the Hebrews, and 
intended to secure a similar object of retaining the 
land in the same clan or tribe. 

" The Chinese are rather gardeners than farmers, 
not only in the small size of their grounds, but in 
their ignorance of those operations whereby soils 
naturally unfruitful are made fertile, those which 
produce few kinds of plants made to bring forth a 
greater variety, and their natural fertility sustained 
at the cheapest rate by a proper manuring and rota- 
tion of crops. They make up for the disadvantages 
of poor implements by hard work, repeatedly turning 
over the soil, and sustaining its productiveness by 
constant manuring. Their agricultural utensils are 
few and simple, and are probably now made similar 
to those used centuries ago. The broad hoe, a less 
efficient tool than our spade, is used more than any 
other ; the edge of the large wooden blade is guarded 
with iron, and the weight adds impetus to the blow. 
Spades, . shovels, and mattocks are employed in 
kitchen gardening, and the plow and harrow in rice 
cultivation. The plow is made of wood, except the 
iron-edged share, which lies so flat that it cannot 
penetrate the soil more than five inches. The whole 
implement is so simple and rude that one would think 
the inventor of it was a laborer who, tired of the 
toil of spading, called the ox to his aid, and tied his 
shovel to a rail ; fastening the animal at one end, and 
guiding the other, he was so pleased with the relief 
that he never thought of improving it much further 
than to sharpen the spade to a coulter, and bend the 
rail to a beam and handle. The harrow is a heavy 



FARMING OPERATION'S. 23 

stick, armed witli a single row of stout wooden teeth, 
and furnished with a frame-work to guide it, or a tri- 
angular machine, with rows of teeth, on which the 
driver rides. 

" The buffalo is most used in rice cultivation, and 
the ox and ass in dry plowing ; horses, mules, cows, 
and goats likewise render service to the farmer in 
various ways, and are often yoked in most ludicrous 
combinations. But the team which Nieuhoff de- 
scribes, of a man driving his wife and his ass yoked 
to the same plow is too bad for China often to pre- 
sent, though it has been so frequently quoted that 
one almost expects on landing to see half the women 
in the harness." * 

In the Fuh-Tcien province, and perhaps elsewhere 
in China, the farmer raises three crops of grain from 
the same soil within twelve months. It is done in 
this way : about the middle of April the first crop 
of rice is set out in the fields, after the manner of 
transplanting cabbages, beets, etc., in the United 
States. This crop grows till about the middle of 
June, when the second crop is set out in the same 
fields, the rows coming between those of the first crop. 
The two crops then grow together till about the mid- 
dle of July, when the first crop is harvested. After 
the removal of the first crop, the second comes 
forward rapidly, and about the middle of Sep- 
tember it is gathered. The ground is now plowed, 
and prepared for the winter crop of wheat, 
which is sowed about the first of October, and is 
reaped about the first of the following April, thus 

* Middle Kingdom, vol. ii, page 102. 



24 GENEBAL VIEW OF CHINA. 

leaving the soil to be prepared for the summer rice 
crops. 

Artisans constitute a most numerous class, and 
their efforts are directed to almost every conceivable 
branch of human industry and enterprise. Their 
skill in many departments of handicraft is universally 
recognized, and some of their fabrics and wares com- 
mand the admiration of the world. It is worthy of 
remark that what are considered by Europeans as the 
three great discoveries or inventions of modern times, 
the art of printing, the manufacture of gunpowder, 
and the mariner's compass, had their origin in China. 
Printing was practiced in China during the tenth cen- 
tury of the Christian era. The Chinese name for 
gunpowder is fire-medicine, or fire-drug ; and though 
it is probable they received from western nations the 
knowledge of applying it to firearms, it is neverthe- 
less certain that its composition was known to the 
Chinese in very ancient times. There is reliable evi- 
dence tkat as early as the third or fourth century of 
the Christian era the Chinese were acquainted with 
the properties and use of the mariner's compass ; and 
even the variation of the needle had not escaped their 
observation. 

The use of inflammable gas for artistic and 
other purposes is with us a very recent measure ; and 
as we look at our dwellings and cities thus lighted, 
we take to ourselves great credit for ingenuity 
and enterprise. But here, also, it appears the Chi- 
nese have anticipated us, though they have failed to 
apply it on as grand a scale as their western 
brethren. 




Fire Wells. 



INFLAMMABLE GAS. 27 

" In the province of Sze-chueu, one of the western 
provinces, there are very deep wells, the water of 
which is like brine, from flowing through beds of rock 
salt. This brine is boiled down in great pans. In 
some parts of the province there are hot salt water 
wells, and what are called fire-wells. The months of 
these wells are closed, and a bamboo pipe is passed 
into the well. Through this a large quantity of gas 
passes, and if a light be applied it takes fire and 
burns constantly, just like the gas-pipes in our towns. 
]S"ow the Chinese are very clever, and therefore they 
make use of this natural gas manufactory for lighting 
the villages near it, conveying it to them in hollow 
bamboos instead of iron pipes. 

" The chief use, however, which they make of the 
gas is to lead it, by tht, pipes, under the salt-pans ; but 
to keep the pipe from burning they fix an earthen- 
ware nozzle in the end of the bamboo pipes, and thus 
the water is evaporated or boiled away. In this man- 
ner salt is produced very cheaply, because there is no 
expense for fuel, and in this district the quantity of 
gas is so great that as many salt-pans can be worked 
as the people choose to make. The gas is something 
like our coal gas. It is produced by some volcanic 
action under ground, and probably comes from some 
burning layers of coal, which throw off gas in greater 
or smaller quantities. Perhaps there is no other in- 
stance where so much gas flows continually from the 
ground as in this." 

Even "table-turning and spiritual manifestations 
are not unknown in China. In this, as in many other 
things, they are in advance of the practitioners among 



28 GENEKAL VIEW OF CHINA. 

ourselves. The mode of carrying on this operation is 
somewhat different from that in vogue in the United 
States. The table is turned upside down upon a pair 
of chopsticks laid at right angles over the mouth of a 
mortar or bowl filled with water. Four persons lay 
one hand upon each leg of the table, while the other 
clasps the free hand of one of the four, and thus the 
circle is completed. An incantation is now chanted 
by the ' medium,' and soon the table begins to move. 
The ' circle ' move with it, and in a minute it is whirl- 
ing violently upon its axis, until it is thrown violently 
off its balance, and falls upon the floor. The motion 
of the table is universally attributed to supernatural 
agency, but it seems not to have been used as a means 
of communication with the spiritual world. 

" There is no necessity for resorting to so clumsy a 
method of communication with the dead. The spirits 
have been induced to write their communications. 
A table is sprinkled with some kind of powder, or 
flour, Or bran, or dust. Then a small basket, without 
a handle, is armed with a pencil or chopstick, which 
is tied to its edge, or thrust through its interstices. 
The basket is then turned upside down, its edges rest- 
ing upon the tips of one or two fingers of two persons 
standing on opposite sides of the table, and in such 
a manner that the pencil touches the powdered sur- 
face. In a short time the pencil moves, leading after 
it the basket and the fingers on which it rests, and 
tracing upon the dusty table lines and figures in which 
a good linguist easily recognizes the characters of the 
Chinese language. In this way information is com- 
municated on subjects of which the operators have no 



THE SCHOLAR. 29 

knowledge. Sometimes, indeed, a ghost thus invoked 
may be unable to write Chinese, or may be unwilling 
to exercise its powers, and then nothing can be discov- 
ered but unmeaning lines and angles. But in general 
the composition is good and the information valu- 
able." * 

The scholar has always been held in very high esti- 
mation by the Chinese. It is interesting to notice at 
what an early period they directed their attention to 
letters. Before Cesar led his conquering legions into 
Britain, or Cecrops introduced the first colonies into 
Greece, the Chinese had their schools of learning, 
whose halls were crowded with ingenuous youth. 
Their written works on natural history, mathematics, 
agriculture, silk-weaving, tea-culture, and kindred 
subjects, contain in a crude state a considerable 
amount of curious and useful information. Their 
national history is voluminous, minutely elaborated 
and generally trustworthy. Their poetry furnishes 
some fanciful conceptions and neat similes, though in 
dreary settings of vapid commonplace and attenuated 
sentimentalism. Their metaphysical writings afford 
some specimens of searching criticism, subtle analysis, 
correct generalization, and the occasional enunciation 
of sound principles in morals and politics, inter- 
woven, however, in all these departments, with much 
that is empirical, vitiating, and false. Their genial 
atmosphere and brilliant sky early invited their at- 
tention to the motions of the heavenly bodies ; and 
we find their oldest historic records associated with 
notices of eclipses and other celestial phenomena. 

* China: Its Religions and Superstitions. Pp. 186, 187. 



30 GENEKAL VIEW OF CHINA. 

The Chinese, however, have never made much prog- 
ress in scientific investigations, and in view of the 
advanced position of modern Christian nations in 
these departments, an acquaintance with the higher 
sciences can scarcely be predicated of them. They 
are eminently a practical people, and have made 
quite creditable progress in most of the useful and 
many of the fine arts. 

The merchants of China comprise a large and 
highly respected class of society. They are character- 
ized by tact and shrewdness in business transactions, 
fertility of resources and expedients, and by patient 
energy and perseverance in overcoming difficulties. 
The great varieties of their climate, soil, and produc- 
tions, soon excited the spirit of trade among the 
Chinese, while their admirable facilities for internal 
navigation furnished every encouragement to the de- 
velopment of commercial enterprise. "While Jehosh- 
aphat was building his ships for the gold trade with 
Ophir, Jhe counterparts of those specimens of naval 
architecture were sailing on the rivers and estuaries, 
or along the coast of China. The maritime position 
of the empire, and the value of its productions, early 
attracted the attention of other nations ; and even 
during the first centuries of the Christian era we find 
evidences of its commercial intercourse with foreign 
countries. In subsequent ages the Chinese fostered 
this trade with other nations, and it was not till the 
accession of the present dynasty, A.D. 1644, that the 
government of China introduced its exclusive policy 
on this subject. Not withstanding this governmental 
opposition, and the embarrassing difficulties it origi- 



SCENE IN THE PEIHO. 31 

nated, foreign trade was never wholly extinguished ; 
and to-day merchants of all lands resort to China, 
and the ships of every civilized nation enter her 
ports. So important, indeed, are the productions of 
China in the world's commerce, that recently the 
four great representative nations of Christendom 
combined their flags and their diplomacy in a grand 
effort to open up the empire to foreign intercourse. 
The scene enacted in the Peiho during the spring of 
1858 is probably unparalleled in the history of na- 
tions. There, side by side, lay the splendid frigates 
of England, France, Russia, and the United States, 
their national ensigns floating out in the breeze of 
that northern gulf. The smoke had scarcely rolled 
away from the battlements of Sebastopol, the graves 
were still fresh that had closed over the victims of 
the ensanguined battle-fields in the Crimea, the 
divergent and frequently conflicting home policies of 
their governments were still active and unharmo- 
nized ; and yet there in the extreme east, the high 
embassadors of those lately contending nations now 
meet in friendly council, and combine their prestige 
and power to draw within the circle of Christian na- 
tions the oldest and mightiest heathen nation in the 
world. 

The soldier occupies the lowest position in the Chi- 
nese classification of society, and this arrangement, 
we think, is in accordance with the true sentiment 
of the nation on this point. The Chinese do not re- 
gard it as at all derogatory to their character to be 
told that they are deficient in the elements of warlike 
strength. " We are not a military people," say they, 



32 GENEKAL VIEW OF CHINA. 

" we are a literary nation. "With us reason, and not 
force, defines rights and privileges ; argument, and 
not the sword, decides controversies." It is not 
strange then that in China the military art is lightly 
esteemed, and that their soldiers are indifferently 
trained, poorly paid, ludicrously inefficient, and fre- 
quently disgustingly vicious. 

During the summer of 1854 the western portions 
of the Fuh-kien province were greatly disturbed by 
local banditti, who, taking advantage of the great in- 
surgent movement, and sometimes following in its 
wake, proceeded to pillage the people and devastate 
the country. To put down these disturbances the 
governor sent out occasional detachments of troops, 
who invariably returned after a brief campaign, re- 
porting the troubles all settled. In one of the detach- 
ments thus sent out were a goodly number of persons 
who lived near one of our chapels. It was quite in- 
teresting to see them robe themselves in military 
costume, and bidding adieu to their families and 
neighbors, start for the scene of danger. About two 
months after their departure, as I was closing the 
services in the chapel, it was announced that the sol- 
diers were returning, and everybody rushed to the 
street to see them. As the beggarly looking squad 
came straggling along I noticed that all my neigh- 
bors were home again, and to all appearances un- 
harmed. " What !" said I, with some surprise, " are 
you all back again ?" " Yes," they replied, " all 
save two or three who died of dysentery from eating 
too much fruit." " And what of the campaign V I 
continued. " Ah, we had a dangerous time of it." 



AMUSING INCIDENT. 33 

" What !" said I, " did you succeed in finding the 
enemy ?" " Finding tliem," they replied with some 
earnestness," why we fought some fifty pitched bat- 
tles !" " Fifty battles," I exclaimed, " and nobody 
hurt." " Hurt !" they indignantly rejoined, " why 
just look here !" and they held up their tattered gar- 
ments and scratched skins with an expression of 
countenance at once doleful and ludicrous. The ap- 
peal was irresistible, and I dropped the subject. 

3 



34: ANCIENT RELIGIOUS FAITH OF THE CHINESE. 



CHAPTER II. 

ANCIENT RELIGIOUS FAITH OF THE CHINESE. 

Any one who carefully analyzes the character of 
the Chinese must notice its unique and, in some 
respects, apparently anomalous traits. This charac- 
ter is manifestly the product of forces, some of which 
at least are now extinct, the result of influences, 
some of which are now inoperative. Confucianism, 
Rationalism, or Buddhism, acting either singly or con- 
jointly, could never produce such a character. Ra- 
tionalism and Buddhism are palpably incompetent to 
perform such a work ; and with regard to Confucian- 
ism, its influence in this direction is due quite as 
much to those ancient principles which underlie and 
antedate it as to the ethical and political maxims 
which Confucius has deduced from them. Conced- 
ing to the three religious systems of China all the 
influence in the formation of the national character 
which can fairly be claimed for them, there still 
remain mental and moral traits for which these sys- 
tems indicate no adequate cause, furnish no satisfac- 
tory explanation. It is, we think, to what might be 
called the ancient religious faith of the Chinese that 
we must look for the true type of their character. 
Much has been written with reference to ancient 



THE BIBLE AND CIVILIZATION. 35 

Chinese civilization ; and modern infidelity, with its 
accustomed avidity and recklessness, seized npon it 
as an argument against the Bible. " The Bible," 
said they, " is not essential to human progress ; man 
can civilize himself. There is in man an innate 
power by virtue of which he rises from barbarism to 
refinement ;" and to substantiate the truth of these 
propositions they referred to China. " There," said 
they, "is a vast people who have grown up from 
barbarism to civilization without any contact with or 
influence from the teachings of the Bible." Within 
the past few years Europeans and Americans have 
enjoyed unprecedented facilities for studying Chinese 
character and history ; and, as one gratifying result, 
we are now able to explode errors and enunciate cor- 
rect views on subjects formerly distorted by exuber- 
ant fancy or polished malice. Without wishing to 
deny or undervalue the just claims of ancient Chi- 
nese civilization, we do deny most unequivocally the 
statement that it has been obtained independent of 
" any contact with or influence from the teachings 
of the Bible." We assert that all the elements of 
progress and conservatism which have given to Chi- 
nese civilization its high character and position have 
been drawn directly or indirectly from the primitive 
teachings of the Bible. In support of this assertion 
we present the following facts and considerations. 

In view of the ascertained and reliable facts of 
early Chinese history, it is, we think, entirely proba,- 
hle that the founders of the Chinese empire possessed 
a traditional knowledge of some of the ancient doc- 
trines and facts of the Bible. We shall hereafter see 



36 ANCIENT EELIGIOUS FAITH. 

that the early authentic records of the Chinese carry 
ns back to a period just sufficiently remote from the 
deluge and the dispersion to account for the eastward 
migration, through central Asia, of this ancient 
colony, and its permanent political organization in 
the great plain of China. It is not improbable that 
some of the founders of this great empire were the 
immediate children of those who started from west- 
ern Asia on the great eastward migration. Coming 
thus directly from the primeval seat of the race, these 
colonies must have taken with them some knowledge 
of the early teachings of the Bible, and some recollec- 
tion of the more prominent events of sacred history. 
This view is corroborated by the references to these 
topics which we find in the mythological history of 
the Chinese. Their account of the creation of the 
heavens and the earth by Pwanku is only a 
reflection of the Mosaic narrative of that stupen- 
dous creative act by the Almighty; and with ref- 
erence to the subsequent events of sacred history, 
says Dr. Medhurst, "the coincidence of ten gen- 
erations having passed away, the institution of 
marriage, the invention of music, the rebellion of a 
portion of the race, and the confused mixture of the 
divine and human families closed by the occurrence 
of the flood in the time of Tau, might lead us to con- 
clude that, in their allusions to this period, the Chi- 
nese are merely giving their version of the events 
that occurred from Adam to Noah." " The mention 
made in their early history of the draining of the 
land as one of the first acts of the primitive rulers of 
China, and the allusion to the discovery of wine 



CHINESE SHANGTI. 37 

about the same period, show that their first kings 
must have synchronized with the immediate descend- 
ants of Noah ; and the recorded fact that a seven 
years' famine took place in China nearly coeval with 
that of Egypt, proves that their chronicles are enti- 
tled to some degree of credit." 

But we have still stronger evidence on this subject. 
Some of the oldest and most reliable books of the 
Chinese furnish conclusive evidence that in ancient 
times they possessed some correct knowledge of the 
true God. This Being is designated Shangti, (Upper 
Ruler,) and to him are ascribed many of the attri- 
butes which we predicate of the true God. "We ad- 
mit that subsequent Chinese philosophers have sought 
to explain away all these allusions to the Upper 
Ruler, and that in our day this ancient knowledge 
has utterly faded from the national consciousness of 
the Chinese ; but there stands the record on the sub- 
ject, embalmed in their sacred writings, as a sure wit- 
ness against them; "because that, when they knew 
God they glorified him not as God, neither were 
thankful ; but became vain in their imaginations, and 
their foolish heart was darkened. Professing them- 
selves to be wise they became fools, and changed the 
glory of the incorruptible God into an image made 
like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted 
beasts, and creeping things." Sir John Davis, refer- 
ring to this subject, says : " Notwithstanding the 
general aspect of materialism that pertains to the 
Chinese philosophy, it is difficult to peruse their sen- 
timents regarding tien (heaven) without the persua- 
sion that they ascribe to it most of the attrifcrates of a 



38 ANCIENT EELIGIOUS FAITH. 

supreme governing intelligence." In the ritual for 
public worship in what has been termed the state re- 
ligion of China, there are certain prayers, used by the 
emperor, which afford light on this subject. The 
following is a translation of the ancient form of 
prayer with which the emperor, at the round altar, in 
the southern suburbs of Pekin, the capital of China, 
greeted the approach of the spirit of Shangti to the 
sacrifices offered at the winter solstice. The transla- 
tion is by the Rev. Dr. Legge, of the London Mission 
at Hong-kong, China. 

" To thee, O mysteriously working Maker, I look 
up in thought. How imperial is the expansive arch 
(where thou dwellest.) ISTow is the time when the 
masculine energies of nature begin to be displayed, 
and with the great ceremonies I reverently honor 
thee. Thy servant, I am but a reed or willow ; my 
heart is but as that of an ant ; yet have I received thy 
favoring decree appointing me to the government of 
the empire. I deeply cherish a sense of my igno- 
rance and blindness, and am afraid lest I prove un- 
worthy of thy great favors. Therefore will I observe 
all the rules and statutes, striving, insignificant as I 
am, to discharge my loyal duty. Far distant here, I 
look up to thy heavenly palace. Come in thy pre- 
cious chariot to the altar. Thy servant, I bow my 
head to the earth, reverently expecting thine abund- 
ant grace. All my officers are here arranged along 
with me, joyfully worshiping before thee. All the 
spirits accompany thee as guards (filling the air) from 
east to west. Thy servant, I prostrate myself to meet 
thee, and reverently look up for thy coming, O Te 1 



IMPEEIAL PEAYEE. 39 

O that thou would vouchsafe to accept our offerings, 
and regard us while we worship thee whose goodness 
is inexhaustible !" 

In A. D. 1832 China was visited with a long and 
severe drought, and the emperor, Tau-Kwang, thus 
prays for relief: "I, the minister of heaven, am 
placed over mankind, and am made responsible for 
keeping the world in order and tranquilizing the 
people. Unable as I am to sleep or eat with 
composure, scorched with grief and trembling with 
anxiety, still no genial and copious showers have as 
yet descended. ... I ask myself whether, in sacrificial 
services, I have been remiss ; whether pride and 
prodigality have had a place in my heart, springing 
up there unobserved ; whether from length of time I 
have become careless in the affairs of government ; 
whether I have uttered irreverent words, and de- 
served reprehension ; whether perfect equity has been 
attained in conferring rewards and inflicting punish- 
ments ; whether, in raising mausoleums and laying out 
gardens, I have wasted property and distressed the 
people; whether in the appointment of officers I 
have failed to obtain fit persons, and thereby have 
rendered the government vexatious to the people; 
whether the oppressed have found no means of ap- 
peal ; whether the largesses conferred on the afflicted 
southern provinces were properly applied, or the 
people left to die in the ditches. . . . Prostrate, I beg 
imperial Heaven to pardon my ignorance and dull- 
ness, and to grant me self-renovation; for millions 
of innocent people are involved by me, a single man. 
My sins are so numerous that it is hopeless to escape 



4:0 ANCIENT EELIGIOUS FAITH. 

their consequences. . . . Prostrate, I implore impe- 
rial Heaven to grant a gracious deliverance !" 

While the ancient writings of the Chinese show 
conclusively that they possessed, originally, some 
correct knowledge of the nature and attributes of 
God, it is interesting to find that in the consciousness 
of the Chinese, even in our own day, there lingers a 
tradition or impression of the divine law. In preach- 
ing to the Chinese the missionary frequently refers 
to the decalogue, and presents its requirements and 
enactments as the divine law. Speaking one day on 
this topic in the chapel of our mission, in the city of 
Fuh Chau, a Chinese gentleman present interrupted 
me with the remark, " We also have a heavenly 
law." The expression "heavenly law" (tien teu) 
was new to me at the time, and I eagerly inquired 
about it. "We all know," continued the speaker, 
" about the heavenly law," and the entire congrega- 
tion corroborated the correctness of the statement. 

" Where is this statute or law ?" I inquired. 

They replied : " We cannot tell where it is." 

" Is it not found," I proceeded, " in some of your 
books '?" 

"No," they answered; "our books give us no in- 
formation on the subject." 

" Cannot some of your scholars or learned men ex- 
plain the matter ?" 

" They know nothing more on the subject than we 
do." 

" How then," I asked with some earnestness, " do 
you know there is such a law as that to which you 
refer ? You have never seen it, have never read it, 



HEAVENLY LAW. 41 

are ignorant of its precise import ; how do yon know- 
there is snch a law?" 

"Why," said they, "every one says there is a 
heavenly law, and we never heard of one who had 
any donbt on the subject." 

Pursuing these inquiries, I ascertained that all 
with whom I conversed were informed on the sub- 
ject. This statute is a kind of unwritten higher law 
to them ; they accept it as the standard of morals, 
the authoritative rule of faith. They consider it a 
sufficient condemnation of any man or enterprise to 
say, "Ah, he or it violates the heavenly law !" When 
urged to give the import of this law, their reply is, 
"We know it enjoins the performance of virtuous 
actions, and forbids vicious conduct ;" and those who 
have some knowledge of Christian doctrines say that 
it must be similar to the precepts of the decalogue. 

Whence did the Chinese obtain this profound 
impression of a heavenly law? and how happens it 
that the abrasion of successive centuries has failed to 
obliterate it from their minds? From the Bible 
standpoint alone can satisfactory answers be given 
to these inquiries. The sublime scenes enacted on 
Sinai rise before us as we dwell on this subject, 
where, we are told, " all the people saw the thunder- 
ings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trum- 
pet, and the mountain smoking : and when the people 
saw it, they removed and stood afar off. And they 
said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will 
hear, but let not God speak with us, lest we die. . . . 
And the people stood afar off; and Moses drew near 
unto the thick darkness where God was." We can 



42 ANCIENT EELIGIOUS FAITH. 

conceive somewhat of the impressions this terrific 
scene would produce on the minds of all present on 
that occasion; and when we add the influences of 
those stupendous miracles by which, subsequently, the 
law was magnified, and of those terrible judgments 
by which all violations of its statutes were punished, 
it is not strange there even now exists among the 
Chinese a recollection of the "heavenly law." 

I was preaching one day to a Chinese congregation 
on the fourth commandment, and while endeavoring 
to explain and enforce the claims of the Sabbath, a 
Chinese gentleman present in the congregation start- 
led me by saying : 

" May I inquire whether your Sabbath is the same 
as our ' heavenly day V " 

" Heavenly day !" said I in reply ; " what do you 
know about a heavenly day?" 

" Why," responded the speaker, " we have always 
heard of a heavenly day, but we cannot say much on 
the subject." 

Following up this interesting topic, I ascertained 
that there is in general use among the Chinese of Fuh 
Chau a proverb which runs thus : " Ah, you are igno- 
rant of the heavenly day !" This proverb is employed 
by old men when reproving the youth of the land. 
ISTo one seemed to have any clear idea of the proverb's 
precise meaning. 

" What is this heavenly day ?" I inquired. 

The uniform answer was : " We cannot tell what 
it is." 

" When does it occur ? Does it come once a year, 
once a month, or how often ?" 



THE SABBATH. 43 

The same answer still met me : " We cannot tell 
yon anything abont it." 

" Do yonr books say nothing on the subject ?" 

" Nothing, so far as we know." 

"And why," I proceeded, "in the absence of all 
direct evidence on the subject, do you believe there 
is a heavenly day ?" 

My effort to develop any latent skepticism was ut- 
terly futile. " Every one believes it," said they, " and 
it must be true." 

We should not be authorized, perhaps, to infer from 
this proverb that the Chinese once had some acquaint- 
ance with the fourth commandment; and yet the 
fact is interesting and suggestive. Pertinent to this 
subject, let us now notice a few other illustrative and 
corroborative circumstances. 

In the ancient history of China we are told that 
when a certain king ascended the throne he instructed 
the different portions of his subjects, " On the seventh 
day come and pay your obeisance." Chinese physi- 
cians, in their diagnosis of diseases, lay it down as an 
axiom that every case of sickness assumes a new phase 
on every seventh day. Again, when a Chinese dies, 
his friends, if able to do so, will employ priests to cel- 
ebrate mass for the repose of the departed spirit on 
the seventh day after the death of the party, and this 
mass is performed on successive seventh days for seven 
times. This use of the number seven by the Chinese 
is the more remarkable because in China everything 
goes by decades or decimals. Their dozen is ten ; 
their sets of plates, cups, saucers, etc., comprise 
ten pieces or pairs ; in fact, you constantly hear of 



4A ANCIENT EELIGIOUS FAITH. 

tens. But in the instances to which I have referred 
we find the number seven introduced. JSTow, connect- 
ing this singular fact with their proverb about the 
heavenly day, are we not authorized to infer that, in 
some former period of their history, the Chinese were 
acquainted with the divine command, " Remember 
the Sabbath-day," etc. ? 

The filial piety of the Chinese has an important 
bearing on this view of the subject. The doctrine of 
filial piety, that is, respect of children for their parents, 
is one of the most important and prominent features 
of Chinese civilization. It is scarcely necessary to 
remind the reader that the Chinese have pressed their 
theories on this subject to an unjustifiable extreme ; 
that their filial piety is rank idolatry; and that, in 
genuine regard and love for their parents, the theory 
and practice of the Chinese are utterly divergent and 
hopelessly conflicting. Notwithstanding these sad 
drawbacks, however, it is still true that the position 
of the Chinese on this interesting question is far in 
advance of that of any other heathen nation in the 
world. The doctrine underlies and supports their en- 
tire social and political systems, and it has developed 
that form of idolatry to which, of all others, the Chi- 
nese are most firmly and sincerely attached. We may 
say, indeed, that the Chinese are the only heathen 
people who have given to this doctrine an important 
place in their civilization and government. While 
other heathen nations entirely ignore this subject, or 
openly sanction practices utterly opposed to its benefi- 
cent teachings, the Chinese have accepted it as a pri- 
mary truth, and have invested it with all ethical and 



MARRIAGE INSTITUTION". 45 

political honors. In this regard their civilization is 
unique among all the heathen nations of the world. 
What has given to the Chinese this distinguishing 
characteristic % There can be, we conceive, only one 
answer to this question: It has sprung from their 
early connection with the old Bible records, and par- 
ticularly with the fifth command of the decalogue. 

The marriage institution, as recognized in the laws 
of China, contributes evidence on this subject. The 
intelligent reader is prepared for the statement that 
in this respect, also, the Chinese stand entirely above 
all other heathen nations ; but it is probable even he 
will be surprised to observe how nearly the Chinese 
view of this subject harmonizes with the one con- 
tained in the Pentateuch. A Chinese husband can 
have at one time only one legal wife. At her death, 
the bereaved husband may make a second marriage. 
This wife is taken with established ceremonies, and 
she is the recognized head of the domestic household. 
Concubinage is allowed, and freely practiced in China ; 
but the concubine cannot take from the wife her 
authority or position in the family. His marriage is 
one of the most important events in the life of a 
Chinese. Its preliminaries are arranged with anxious 
solicitude, and with profound deference to all the in- 
fluences, terrestrial and celestial, which are supposed 
to affect so important an enterprise. The nuptials 
are celebrated with all the display which the re- 
sources of the -parties can command, and the cere- 
mony is invested with judicial sanctions, social festiv- 
ities, and ancestral honors. It is certainly as remark- 
able as singular to find such sentiments on this 



46 ANCIENT RELIGIOUS FAITH. 

subject prevailing so extensively among a heathen 
people, and the bearing of this fact on the question 
before us is sufficiently evident to the reader. We 
might refer to other sources of testimony on this 
point. The industrial and fine arts, agriculture, com- 
merce, architecture, literature, jurisprudence, polit- 
ical economy, proverbs, social system, and the man- 
ners and customs of the Chinese, all furnish evidence, 
palpable, cumulative, and convincing, that the orig- 
inal Chinese came from the old homestead of the hu- 
man race, in Western Asia, and were acquainted with 
the doctrines and facts of the early Bible records. It 
does not fall within the plan of this work to present 
this evidence in detail. We simply indicate the 
sources from which additional testimony on this sub- 
ject may be drawn, and now pass to notice another 
remarkable feature of Chinese civilization. 

It is a noteworthy fact, that of all those ancient 
empires founded immediately subsequent to the del- 
uge China alone remains. The Assyrians, Egyp- 
tians, and, in later times, the Grecians, have severally 
attained to a comparatively high degree of intelli- 
gence and refinement ; but their star soon culminated 
and sank into utter darkness. China, however, has 
never been wrecked, her civilization has never retro- 
graded; paradoxical though it seems, her star has 
remained in its zenith for at least three thousand 
years. Through all this long lapse of centuries the 
Chinese have kept up, fairly and steadily, to their 
original civilization ; and to-day they present all the 
essential elements of those social, literary, and politi- 
cal traits which characterized them in those early 



NATIONAL LONGEVITY. 47 

epochs when the Assyrians built their magnificent 
cities, the Egyptians developed their subtle theory of 
the metempsychosis, or the Greeks were thundering 
at the gates of Troy. It must certainly be interest- 
ing to inquire how such a result has been reached, 
and to ascertain, if we can, at least some of the causes 
which have contributed to it. In solving this inter- 
esting problem we observe that the civilization of the 
Chinese is distinguished from all other heathen civ- 
ilizations by the fact that its primitive elements were 
derived from the Bible, and that the necessary tend- 
ency of these elements is to conserve and perpetuate 
the system. A prominent characteristic of Chinese 
civilization is the total absence of those revolting and 
cruel rites which form the leading traits of other 
heathen systems of civilization. As illustrative of 
this remark, we may refer to the deification of vice 
and the offering of human victims in sacrifices, prac- 
tices which, though characteristic of nearly every 
other heathen nation, constitute no feature of Chi- 
nese civilization. The connection between these 
abominations and the destruction of the nations 
guilty of them, is shown in Leviticus xviii, 24, 25 : 
" Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things : for 
in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out 
before you ; and the land is defiled : therefore I do 
visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself 
vomiteth out her inhabitants.". As a further contri- 
bution to the solution of this question we refer to the 
length of days promised by the Almighty to those who 
observe the command : " Honor thy father and thy 
mother." No heathen nation has ever approximated 



48 ANCIENT RELIGIOUS FAITH. 

the Chinese in their respect for parents; and not- 
withstanding the wide divergence of the Chinese, 
both in theory and practice, from the true import of 
the fifth commandment, we conceive it is neither fan- 
ciful nor farfetched to suppose that even their imper- 
fect observance of it has had much to do with the 
permanence of their institutions and the perpetuity 
of their national existence. Finally, on this topic, 
we observe that God may have preserved the Chi- 
nese nation in its integrity for the elucidation of 
some great principle, or the fulfillment of some 
prophecy connected with the progress and triumph 
of his Son's kingdom in the world. There are inti- 
mations that in the latter days the Church, in her 
graces, accomplishments, and triumphs, will be sur- 
passingly beautiful and glorious. "Therefore thy 
gates shall be open continually; they shall not be 
shut day nor night ; that men may bring unto thee 
the forces of the Grentiles, and that their kings may 
be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not 
serve thee shall perish ; yea, those nations shall be 
utterly wasted." " Behold, these shall come from far : 
and lo, these from the north and from the west ; and 
these from the land of Sinim." (China ?) " Who hath 
heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? 
shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? 
or shall a nation be born at once ?" For the accom- 
plishment of these and similar prophecies no nation 
has ever furnished such grand and essential elements 
as the Chinese, and in no age of the world have the 
signs of ultimate and immediate success been so 
grand and auspicious as at the present hour. 



HISTOEY OF CHINA. 49 



CHAPTER III. 

HISTOEY OF CHINA. 

The history of China has proved to many writers 
a fruitful source of perplexity and misconception. 
While some have decried it as altogether unworthy 
of credence or study, others have lavished upon it 
the highest encomiums. It has had, indeed, the some- 
what singular fortune of being alternately unduly 
extolled or indiscriminately disparaged. Disgusted 
with its harsh and unintelligible nomenclature, and 
with the outre garb in which its scenes and heroes 
appear before us, the man of refined taste has usually 
dismissed the subject from his thoughts ; while the 
skeptic, eager for plausible arguments in support of 
his views, has seized with avidity on its high-sound- 
ing claims to antiquity as a triumphant refutation of 
the claims of the Bible. Some of our readers can 
doubtless remember the confident utterances of the 
infidel oracles in France and Germany on this sub- 
ject not many years ago : " The Bible chronology 
unreliable ;" " the Bible history contradicted by the 
authentic records of ancient nations ;" " the Bible 
proved to be false !" These and kindred statements 
supplied at once the text and key-note for innumer- 
able philippics against the Christian religion. " The 



50 HISTORY OF CHINA. 

Mosaic record," said these writers, "is utterly at 
fault, for the ancient records of China assure us that 
the ancestors of that people were laying the founda- 
tions of the Chinese empire at the time when, accord- 
ing to the Mosaic narrative, the Almighty was creat- 
ing the heavens and the earth ; and that the Chinese 
husbandman was tilling his farm at the time Adam 
is represented as cultivating Eden." The issue was 
thus fairly presented, and, admitting the premises as- 
sumed, the conclusion is inevitable. If the ancient 
annals of China are authentic, the Mosaic record is 
invalidated. The only question is, " Are the ancient 
records of China authentic ?" This question has now 
been thoroughly investigated, and a unanimous ver- 
dict has been given by both Chinese and foreigners, 
missionaries and diplomatists. The substance of this 
verdict is that all the historic records of China an- 
terior to Fuhhi, supposed to be B. C. 2852, are ut- 
terly fabulous; that from Fuhhi to the commence- 
ment of the Chau dynasty, about B. C. 1100, they 
are extremely vague and uncertain, and that it is not 
till you come to the times of the Chau dynasty, about 
B. C. 1100, that they become entirely reliable. 

Sir John Davis, referring to this subject, says : 
" The period of authentic history may be considered 
as dating from the race of Chau, in whose times Con- 
fucius himself lived ; for although it might be going 
too far to condemn all that precedes that period as 
absolutely fabulous, it is still so mixed up with fable 
as hardly to deserve the name of history." Says the 
late Kev. Dr. Medhurst : " It has been generally sup- 
posed that the Chinese maintain an antiquity of 



MYTHOLOGICAL HISTOEY. 51 

myriads of years, and that their historical records, 
stretching far back into the vista of more than a 
thousand ages, are at such variance with the com- 
paratively recent account of Moses as to oblige us 
either to question the one or the other. The fact is, 
however, that the Chinese, like most other heathen 
nations, have a mythological as well as a chronolog- 
ical period ; the one considered by themselves as fabu- 
lous, and the other as authentic ; the one connected 
with the history of their gods, and the other with 
that of their men. In the former they speak of their 
celestial emperor, who reigned forty-five thousand 
years ; their terrestrial emperor, who reigned eighteen 
thousand years, followed by their human emperor, 
who reigned as long ; without condescending to en- 
lighten us as to the names, characters, events, or cir- 
cumstances of these wonderful individuals, or their 
still more extraordinary reigns; nay, without so 
much as telling us whether their dominions were 
established in heaven or on earth, or whether they 
referred exclusively to China, or included other 
nations. In short, the vague account they furnish us 
of these fancied emperors shows that they were 
merely the figment of the imagination, introduced to 
supply a deficiency and to amuse the credulous. In- 
deed, so little credit is attached to this fabulous period 
by the Chinese themselves, that one of their most 
respectable historians, Chu-Fu-Tsz, does not .venture 
to allude to it, but, passing by these extravagant 
assumptions, commences his relation at a much later 
period, when events and circumstances of a connected 
character stamp the records of the age with greater 



52 HISTORY OF CHINA. 

marks of credibility." Another Chinese historian 
waxes indignant over these absurd claims to an- 
tiquity, and declares they " are contrary to all sense 
and reason." 

The entire period from Fuhhi, supposed to be 
B. C. 2852, to the beginning of the Chau dynasty, 
B. C. llOOj is so full of the marvelous, its notices are 
so vague, its dates so arbitrary, and the general 
character of the period so fanciful and obscure, that 
it is impossible to receive its records as reliable 
history. We are not authorized, perhaps, to reject 
this period of Chinese history as fabulous, and yet 
we are utterly unable, from its dim historic lights, 
to ascertain with certainty the chronological posi- 
tion and order of its events; and we can only 
hope that future researches and discoveries in the 
lands of the East may multiply the lights of these 
shadowy centuries, and guide the honest inquirer to 
truthful and reliable conclusions on this interesting 
subject. 

Such, then, is the verdict which stern historic truth 
has given with reference to the vaunted antiquity of 
the Chinese empire. The ante-mosaic pretensions of 
Chinese records vanish into thin air, while all the 
facts of their reliable history are in beautiful and 
perfect harmony with the teachings of divine revela- 
tion. 

It does not come within the plan of this work to 
give a detailed account of the history of China, and 
for full information on this subject we would refer 
the reader to the excellent works of Sir John Davis, 
Dr. S. Wells Williams, and others. It is sufficient 



EAELY SETTLEMENT. 53 

for our present purpose to state that according to the 
Chinese records, commencing with Yu the Great, 
about B. C. 2205, there have existed twenty-six dy- 
nasties, covering an entire period of about four thou- 
sand years to the present time. The earliest records 
of China point to the province of Honan as the orig- 
inal seat of its founders, and a glance at the physical 
geography of the country suggests the route over 
central Asia, through the mountain passes on the 
northwest of China, and down the waters of the Yel- 
low River, along which they passed in reaching that 
position. From this point the Chinese gradually ex- 
tended to the northward and southward over the 
area of their present empire. At times, as we pursue 
their history, they present the appearance of a con- 
solidated government under a central and authorita- 
tive head ; and then, again, they appear split up into 
petty and frequently contending states or kingdoms, 
of which at one time the number was one hundred 
and twenty-five. It is a noteworthy circumstance, 
that at the time our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, 
was born into the world, China was under the sway 
of an emperor whose name was Peace. In A.D. 
585, the territory north and south of the Yajstg-tsz 
River, the Mississippi of China, was united in one em- 
pire. Taitsung, one of the most celebrated emperors 
of China, reigned at this period, and " during his 
reign the limits of the empire were extended over all 
the Turkish tribes lying west of Kan-suh, and south 
of the Tien-shan, as far as the Caspian Sea, which 
were placed under four satrapies or residences. 
West of these many smaller tribes submitted and 



54 HISTOKY OF CHINA. 

rendered a partial obedience to the emperor, who 
arranged them into sixteen governments under the 
management of a governor-general placed over their 
own chieftains. His frontiers reached from the bord- 
ers of Persia, the Caspian Sea, and the Altai of the 
Kirghis steppe, along those mountains to the north 
side of Cobi, eastward to the inner Hingan. Sogdiana 
and part of Khorassan, and the regions around Hin- 
du-kusk, also obeyed him. The rulers of Nipal and 
Bahar in India sent their salutations by their embas- 
sadors ; and the Greek emperor, Theodosius, sent an 
envoy to Si-ngan in A. D. 643, carrying presents of 
rubies and emeralds, as did also the Persians. The 
Nestorian missionaries also presented themselves at 
court. Taitsung received them with respect, and 
heard them rehearse the leading tenets of their doc- 
trines ; he ordered a temple to be erected at his capi- 
tal, and had some of their sacred books translated for 
his examination, though there is no evidence now re- 
maining that any portion of the Bible was done into 
Chinese at this time." 

The empire has been twice overrun and subjugat- 
ed by the northern hordes, who for centuries have 
hovered along its northern frontiers. In A. D. 1280 
the Mongolians, under Kublai-Khan, obtained the 
ascendancy, and for ninety years governed the em- 
pire. Marco Polo visited China during the reign of 
H/ublai, and on his return to Europe gave a glowing 
description of the splendid magnificence of that east- 
ern monarch's court. Possibly this description had 
something to do with Coleridge's poem, which, he 
says, was composed while he slept : 



EAELY FOREIGN INTERCOUESE. 55 

"In Xana-du did Kublai-Khan 
A stately pleasure dome decree, 
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran 
Through caverns measureless to man 
Down to a sunless sea." 

In A. D. 1644 the Manchu Tartars, from Man- 
churia, obtained the throne and founded the dynasty 
which governs the empire to this day. 

The Chinese have not grown up in complete inde- 
pendence of the other nations of the earth. There is 
sufficient evidence that some of the ancients were not 
ignorant of the existence of such a nation. Arrian 
speaks of the Since or Thince, in the remotest parts 
of Asia, who exported the raw and manufactured 
silks which were brought westward by way of Bac- 
tria or Bokhara. It is recorded in the Chinese 
annals, that in A. D. 94 an envoy was sent by 
the then reigning emperor of China to seek inter- 
course with western nations. Marcus Antoninus, 
A. D. 161, made an unsuccessful attempt to send, by 
sea, an embassy to the eastern country which pro- 
duced the splendid silk fabrics so much admired and 
coveted by the luxurious Latins. ISTestorianism was 
introduced into China, about A. D. 635, by some 
bishops of that faith who had been driven eastward 
by persecutions in the Roman provinces. Two Ara- 
bian travelers visited China in A. D. 850 and 8YV, 
and published their itineraries, which Renaudot has 
translated, giving an account of the extensive com- 
merce then carried on between Arabia and China. 
In A. D. 1246 Pope Innocent IV. dispatched, by the 
overland route through Russia, Giovanni Carpini, a 



56 HISTORY OF CHINA. 

monk, to the court of China to labor for the conver- 
sion of the emperor to the Roman Catholic faith. 
Carpini, it is said, was astonished at the immense 
treasures everywhere displayed, and having been 
courteously treated, was sent back by the emperor 
with a friendly letter to the pope. He was pleased 
rather than scandalized by the near resemblance of 
the rites of the Chinese Budhists to the forms of 
Roman Catholic worship, inferring from thence that 
they either already were, or very soon would be, 
Christians. Matthew and Nicholas Polo, two noble 
Yenetians, visited China, were kindly received by 
the emperor, and on their departure for Europe were 
invited to return to China. ^h.ej did return . in 
1274, carrying with them letters from Pope Gregory 
X., and accompanied by young Marco Polo, son to 
one of them. Young Marco became a favorite with 
the emperor, lived at his court for seventeen years, 
obtained liberty with some difficulty to return to 
Europ'fe, and on his appearance in Yenice gave an ac- 
count of the vastness, resources, and splendor of the 
Chinese empire, which at the time was received with 
utter incredulity, but is now regarded as trustworthy. 
" Abundant evidence," writes Sir John Davis, " is 
afforded by Chinese records that a much more lib- 
eral as well as enterprising disposition existed in 
respect to foreign intercourse than prevails at pres- 
ent. It was only on the conquest of the empire by 
the Manchu Tartars, 1644, that the European trade 
was limited to Canton ; and the jealous and watch- 
ful Tartar dominion established by this handful of 
barbarians has unquestionably occasioned many addi- 



THE POBTUGUESE. 57 

tional obstacles to an increased commerce with the 
rest of the world. "We have already noticed the Chi- 
nese junks which were seen by the Arabian traveler, 
Ibn Batuta, as far west as the coast of Malabar, 
about the end of the thirteenth century. Even be- 
fore the seventh century it appears, from native rec- 
ords, that missions were sent from China to the 
surrounding nations, with a view to inviting mutual 
intercourse. The benefits of industry and trade have 
always been extolled by the people of that country ; 
the contempt, therefore, with which the present Tar- 
tar government affects to treat the European com- 
merce must be referred entirely to the fears which it 
entertains regarding the influence of increased knowl- 
edge on the stability of its dominion." 

The Portuguese led the van of modern European 
nations in opening up trade with China. They ap- 
peared at Canton soon after their discovery (A. D. 
1516) of the passage to the far east by way of the 
Cape of Good Hope ; and their government sent, 
in 1520, the first embassy to the Court of China 
ever dispatched by sea from a European court. It 
was most unfortunate that the character and perform- 
ances of nearly all these early adventurers were not 
calculated to give the Chinese a very exalted concep- 
tion of foreigners. Thirsting for wealth, and often 
reckless as to the means of acquiring it, they usually 
scrupled not to resort to any practices, legal or ille- 
gal, that promised to fill their coffers. Eager to mo- 
nopolize the tempting harvest before them, they were 
extremely jealous of all competition, and by the 
hostile attitude which they assumed toward the 



58 HISTORY OF CHINA. 

efforts of other European nations who sought to es- 
tablish commercial relations with the Chinese, they 
taught them to fear and discountenance all inter- 
course with foreigners. It is truly wonderful to ob- 
serve with what stern impartiality evenhanded justice 
commends the poisoned chalice to the lips of those 
who have mixed its contents. The Portuguese, 
through the entire period of their intercourse with the 
Chinese, have reaped the bitter fruit of the narrow 
and unjust policy toward foreigners with which they 
so unwisely contributed to indoctrinate the rulers of 
China ; and at this day their position and influence 
in China are but little in advance of what they were 
centuries ago, while other nations, who sought to ini- 
tiate a more magnanimous and truthful policy, have 
risen steadily in importance and influence, and to-day 
their counsels are almost omnipotent in the imperial 
cabinet. 

The Dutch, in 1624, established themselves on the 
west "coast of Formosa, a large island on the coast 
of China, but were finally driven from thence by 
the Chinese, and in 1662 they returned to Java. 
At the present day they have an extensive and lu- 
crative trade with China. The Russians, as early as 
1693, sent overland an important embassy to China ; 
in 1719 another was sent by Peter the Great; in 
1727 Catharine I. dispatched an embassador extra- 
ordinary to China, who concluded a treaty with that 
nation, and to the present time they have always 
wielded a powerful influence in China. 

The English early directed their attention to China. 
Unsuccessful attempts to open a trade with the Chi- 



ENGLAND AND THE UNITED STATES. 



59 



nese were made in 1637 and in 1664; but in 1670, 
just eight years after the Dutch had been driven from 
that island, they succeeded in establishing trade with 
the Chinese on the island of Formosa. 

In 1685 they opened trade at Amoy and Can- 
ton, two important cities on the seaboard of China. 
Since that time England has always occupied a 
prominent position in the foreign commerce and 
diplomacy of China, and, in the main, her policy 
toward that government has been magnanimous, 
honorable, and just. It is chiefly due to her influ- 
ence and efforts that the Chinese government is lay- 
ing aside its exclusive policy, that China is rapidly 
coming to take her position in the circle of Christian 
nations, and that now the empire is thrown open to 
foreign commerce and Christianity. 

The trade between the United States and China 
commenced in 1784, and has continued to expand 
quietly and rapidly to the present time. The prac- 
tical energy and peaceable proclivities of the Amer- 
ican character, complementing in the Chinese mind 
the more stately and powerful resources and char- 
acteristics of the English, have doubtless contributed 
much toward giving the Chinese an adequate and 
worthy conception of foreigners. 



60 GOVERNMENT OP CHINA. 



CHAPTER IV. 

GOVERNMENT OF CHINA. 

"Extremes meet," says the old proverb, and every 
department of knowledge and experience corrobo- 
rates tib.e truthfulness of the sentiment. We doubt, 
however, whether any one ever fancied that a com- 
parison between the respective governments of China 
and the United States of America would furnish a 
striking illustration of this popular adage. And yet, 
incredible as the statement may seem, we are pre- 
pared to show that, in form at least, an analogy ex- 
ists between the most recent system of representative 
government and the oldest political despotism in the 
world. The existence of a central government as the 
supreme authority in the empire, the division of Chi- 
nese territory into provinces or states, counties, town- 
ships, and wards ; the presence of regularly organized 
provincial or state governments, their independence 
as between themselves, and their subordination to the 
central government ; the brief tenures of office pre- 
scribed for state officers, and the regulations control- 
ling rotation in office; the existence of municipal 
organizations among the people, and the large 
amount of freedom and authority they exercise in 
the management of local matters ; all these features 



CELESTIAL RULER. 61 

of tlie Chinese government, and others to which we 
might refer, find, partially at least, their correspond- 
ences in the government of the United States of 
America. The contrasts, however, between these 
two governments are obvious and radical. The gov- 
ernment of China is thoroughly despotic. The em- 
peror is the sole and supreme head of the Chinese 
constitution and government. He is regarded as the 
vicegerent of Heaven, chosen by divine authority to 
govern all the world, and is called " The August 
Lofty One," u Celestial Ruler," " Sacred Sovereign," 
" Son of Heaven," " Sire of Ten Thousand Tears," etc. 
Theoretically he is supreme in everything, possessing 
without limit or control the highest legislative and 
executive powers ; practically, however, there are 
limits to this apparently irresponsible authority. 
Although the emperor is the fountain of all power, 
rank, honor, and privilege to all within his domin- 
ions ; although he is the recognized head of religion, 
the only one qualified to adore Heaven, the source of 
law, and the dispenser of mercy; still the people 
regard him as bound to rule according to the pub- 
lished laws of the land, and his power is yet further 
circumscribed by public opinion, the want of an effi- 
cient standing army, poverty, and the venality of his 
own official agents. 

There is in the Chinese government nothing fully 
analogous to a congress, parliament, or tiers etat ; still 
necessity compels the emperor to consult and advise 
with some of his officers. There are two imperial 
councils, which may be regarded as the organs of 
communication between the imperial head and the 



62 GOVERNMENT OF CHINA. 

body politic ; namely, the Cabinet or Privy Council, 
and the General or Public Council. Subordinate to 
these two councils are the administrative parts of the 
supreme government, consisting of the six boards, the 
Colonial, Office, Censorate, Courts of Representation 
and Appeal, and the Imperial College. 

The Cabinet or Privy Council is composed of six 
chancellors, under whom are six grades of officers, 
amounting in all to upward of two hundred persons, 
more than half of whom are Manchus. The im- 
perial statutes state that the duties of this cabinet are, 
" to deliberate on the government of the empire, pro- 
claim abroad the imperial pleasure, regulate the can- 
ons of state, together with the whole administration 
of the great balance of power, thus aiding the em- 
peror in directing the affairs of the nation." 

The General Council is of more recent organiza- 
tion, and is probably the most influential body in the 
Chinese government. It is composed of princes of 
the blood, the chancellors of the cabinet, the presi- 
dents and vice-presidents of the six boards, and the 
chief officers of all the other courts in the capital, 
selected at the emperor's pleasure. The number of 
members in this General Council probably varies ac- 
cording to his majesty's pleasure ; but as no list of 
them is given in the Red Book, it is impossible to tell 
the proportion of Chinese and Manchu officers con- 
stituting this mainspring of the Chinese government. 

Under the foregoing two councils at Pekin, the 
national capital, are the six boards, departments of 
long standing in the government, having originated 
during the ancient dynasties of the empire. 



CIVIL OFFICE, KEVENUE, ETC 63 

1. The Board of Civil Office " lias the government 
and direction of all the officers in the civil service of 
the empire, and thereby assists the emperor to rule 
the people." It farther takes charge of "whatever 
appertains to the plans of selecting rank and grada- 
tion, to the rules of determining degradation and 
promotion, to the ordinances of granting invest- 
itures and rewards, and the laws for fixing schedules 
and furloughs that the civil service may he supplied." 

2. The Board of Revenue " directs the territorial 
government of the empire, and keeps the lists of pop- 
ulation, in order to aid the emperor in nourishing the 
people, controls whatever appertains to the regula- 
tions for levying and collecting duties and taxes, to 
the plans for distributing salaries and allowances, to 
the rates for receipts and disbursements at the gran- 
aries and treasuries, and to the rights for transporting 
by land and water, that sufficient supplies may be 
provided for the country." 

3. The Board of Rites " examines and directs con- 
cerning the performance of the five kinds of ritual 
observances, and makes proclamation thereof to the 
whole empire, thus aiding the emperor in guiding all 
the people. Whatever appertains to the ordinances 
for regulating precedence and literary distinctions, to 
the canons for maintaining religious honor and fidel- 
ity, to the orders respecting intercourse and tribute, 
and to the forms of giving banquets and granting 
bounties, are reported to this board in order to pro- 
mote national education." The five rites referred to 
are the propitious, the felicitous, the infelicitous, 
the military, and the hospitable rites. 



64 GOVEKNMENT OF CHINA. 

4. The Board of War " has the government and 
direction of all the officers within and without the 
provinces employed in the military service of the na- 
tion, for the purpose of aiding the emperor in protect- 
ing all the people. "Whatever appertains to the ordi- 
nances for taking away, giving, and resuming office 
or inheriting rank, to the plans of the post-office de- 
partment, to the rules of military examination and 
discipline, and to the rates and enrollments of actual 
service, are reported to this board in order to regulate 
the hinge of state." 

5. The Board of Punishments " has the govern- 
ment and direction of punishments throughout the 
empire for the purpose of aiding the sovereign in 
correcting the people. Whatever appertains to meas- 
ures for applying the laws with leniency or severity, 
to the task of hearing evidence and giving decisions, 
to the rights of granting pardons, reprieves, or other- 
wise, and to the rates of fines and interest, are all 
reporfed to this board, to aid in giving dignity to 
national manners." 

6. The Board of Works "has the government 
and direction of the public works throughout the 
empire, together with the current expenses of the 
same, for the purpose of aiding the emperor to keep 
the people in a state of repose. Whatever apper- 
tains to plans for buildings of wood or earth, to the 
forms of useful instruments, to the laws for stop- 
ping up or opening channels, and to the ordinances 
for constructing the mausolea and temples, are re- 
ported to this board, in order to perfect the national 
works." 



CENSORATE, REPRESENTATION. 65 

The Colonial Office, or court for the government of 
foreigners, " has the government of the external 
foreigners, orders their emoluments and honors, ap- 
points their visits to court, and regulates their punish- 
ments, in order to display the majesty and goodness 
of the state." This office has the superintendence of 
all the tribes in Mongolia, Cobdo, Hi, and Koko-nor. 
These tribes are called external foreigners, to dis- 
tinguish them from the tributary tribes in Sz Chuen 
and Formosa, who are called internal foreigners. 

The Censorate, or " all-examining court," has " the 
care of manners and customs, the investigation of all 
public offices within and without the capital, the dis- 
crimination between the good and bad performance 
of their business, and between the depravity and 
uprightness of the officers employed in them ; taking 
the lead of other censors, and uttering each his senti- 
ments and reproofs, in order to cause officers to be 
diligent in attention to their daily duties, and to 
render the government of the empire stable." 

The Court of Representation is composed of six 
officers, whose duty it is to receive memorials from 
the provincial authorities, and appeals from their 
judgment by the people, and present them to the 
cabinet. This court is also the channel through 
which the people can appeal directly to the emperor, 
and it is not a rare occurrence for even women and 
girls to travel from remote places in the empire to 
present their petitions for redress before the throne. 

The Court of Appeals has the duty of adjusting all 
the criminal courts in the empire, and somewhat re- 
sembles a supreme court in the government. 



66 GOVEBNMENT OF CHINA. 

The Imperial College is intrusted with the duty of 
drawing up governmental documents, histories, and 
other works ; its chief officers take the lead of the va- 
rious classes, and excite their exertions to advance in 
learning, in order to prepare them for employments, 
and fit them for attending upon the sovereign." 

The provincial or state governments of China have 
"been constructed with considerable ingenuity, and 
have proved to be remarkably stable and efficient. 
The territory of China proper is divided into eighteen 
provinces or states, and each province is subdivided 
into what may be termed counties, townships, and 
wards or tithing s. The high civil authorities in each 
province comprise the viceroy or governor-general, 
lieutenant-governor, treasurer, judge, literary chan- 
cellor, and commissioners of rice and salt. In each 
province there are also what are termed intendants 
of circuits, who act as deputies for the viceroys and 
lieutenant-governors. The county authorities are the 
prefects, and in some cases the superintendents of 
customs. At the head of each township is the dis- 
trict magistrate, and at the head of each ward is the 
constable or centurion. The military officiary in 
each province is thoroughly organized, and has 
charge of both the land and sea forces. The highest 
military officer in the province is the Tartar-general, 
who resides in the provincial capital, takes rank with 
the viceroy, but whose jurisdiction is usually limited 
to the city where he resides. Inferior in rank, but 
superior in power to the Tartar-general, is the major- 
general, who, in conjunction with the viceroy and 
lieutenant-governor, directs the movements of the 



NOBILITY, CIVIL OFFICEES. 67 

forces. Under this major-general are various grades 
of officers, corresponding in the main to the organiza- 
tion of armies in Europe or the United States. 

The nobility of China comprise the members of 
the imperial house and clan, of which there are 
twelve orders, the five ancient orders of nobility 
designated duke, count, viscount, baron, and baro- 
net, and, finally, some other orders which, in conse- 
quence of rarity or peculiar privileges, are deemed 
even more honorable than the preceding, and cor- 
respond in some degree to the orders of garter, this- 
tle, bath, etc., in Europe. The nobility of China, as 
a body, is destitute of power, land, wealth, office, or 
influence. The members of the imperial house and 
clan comprise two branches : the lineal descendants 
of the first emperor of the reigning dynasty, and the 
lineal descendants of his uncles and brothers. The 
management of the clan of imperial relatives apper- 
tains solely to the emperor, and he has constituted 
what may be called the clansmen's court, whose 
duty it is to direct whatever pertains to the imperial 
kindred. 

The civil officers in the Chinese government are 
chosen by the emperor from the literary class of soci- 
ety, and in nearly every instance from those who 
have obtained the three literary degrees correspond- 
ing to our bachelor of arts, master of arts, and doctor 
of laws. The highest civil officers of the government 
are generally selected from those who have received 
the fourth, or highest literary degree known in China. 
It is not surprising, then, that the great majority of 
Chinese officials are men of good natural abilities, 



68 GOVERNMENT OF CHINA. 

thoroughly trained in their schools, and intimately 
acquainted with both the theory and practice of 
their own government. Literary attainments are 
considered absolutely essential to official position and 
preferment; they constitute, in fact, the only aris- 
tocracy that exists among the Chinese. The literary 
class in China is first in social position, civic honors, 
and political influence ; it is a power behind the 
throne greater than the throne itself. The state 
papers of China, written by her officers and covering 
every department of legislation, will compare favora- 
bly, in many respects, with the diplomatic produc- 
tions of any government in Christendom. Some of 
the most accomplished statesmen of Great Britain 
and the United States have been sent as ministers to 
the Court of China, and they have invariably returned 
from their Eastern mission with a cordial respect for 
the business talent, logical acumen, and general intel- 
lectual ability of their Chinese diplomatic confreres. 

The foregoing sketch of the government of China 
would be incomplete without a brief reference to 
some of the practical anomalies with reference to 
this subject which exist among the Chinese. The 
government of China is intensely despotic, and yet, 
coincident with this unmitigated despotism, there 
exists among the Chinese a strong democratic ele- 
ment, which finds expression and scope for action in 
their municipal regulations. Every ward in China 
has its elders, its public hall, where the people meet 
for the transaction of business, and its placards or 
public manifestoes, in which the popular sentiments 
are boldly expressed ; and both unpopular officers and 



WARD MEETINGS. t>9 

offensive acts of government are sometimes criticised 
and denounced with irresistible logic and overwhelm- 
ing ridicule. These elders are chosen by the people, 
either by seniority or by the sentiment of the ward, 
and their authority is potent and generally ultimate 
in adjudicating the cases brought before them. In 
all important festivals and processions, whether civic 
or religious, these elders, in appropriate costume, 
march at the head of the people and act as their rep- 
resentatives. The government regards them as the 
patriarchs of the people, and holds them responsible 
for the acts of the ward in which they reside. If a 
riot or serious casualty occurs in any ward where the 
enforcement of the laws is difficult, the government 
will require the elders to arrest and hand over the 
guilty parties for punishment ; and in case of failure 
to comply with these demands, it will proceed to 
arrest and confine the elders until the guilty or sus- 
pected parties are delivered up to the proper authori- 
ties. Public meetings may be convened in the ward 
at any time, and notice is usually given by sounding 
a gong through the streets, or by written placards 
posted in public places. At these meetings all the 
people may be present and participate in the pro- 
ceedings. Tea, tobacco, wine, and sometimes a sub- 
stantial feast, form the accompaniment to these gath- 
erings of the people. The presence of the literary 
class in these meetings gives additional dignity and 
authority to their proceedings ; but it is a rare thing 
for a literary gentleman to take part in any meeting 
where either the acts or officers of the government 
are to be criticised and opposed. During the earlier 



TO GOVEKNMENT OF CHINA. 

years of our missionary operations in Fuhchau we 
had most convincing evidence of the existence and 
influence of these ward meetings. Instigated and 
controlled by a few crafty and interested parties in 
the ward where we lived, the people assumed an atti- 
tude of decided hostility toward us and our opera- 
tions. Meetings innumerable were held by them to 
discuss the subject and arrange their plans ; interm- 
inable remonstrances against us were sent up to 
the government authorities, and formidable commit- 
tees were appointed to take charge of the matter. 
The result was that for about two years we were 
utterly unable to do anything in the way of obtain- 
ing residences for additional families of missionaries, 
or even native houses for chapels and school-rooms 
in that part of the city. 

In the spring of 1858 there was a popular insurrec- 
tion in Fuhchau, illustrative of the reserved sover- 
eignty claimed and exercised by the Chinese. The 
government officials in that city had obtained large 
sums of money from the people for the purpose of 
protecting the place against the insurgents, who were 
approaching from the westward ; but instead of using 
the money for the object designated, it was ascer- 
tained that the greater part of it was embezzled by the 
officers. At this juncture the imperial commissioner, 
on his way from Pekin to Canton, arrived at Fuh- 
chau. On the morning of his intended departure 
from the city, the authorities were desirous of dis- 
playing the troops provided for the defense of the 
city ; but, as the force in actual service would furnish 
a most startling contrast to the official reports on the 



MOB IN" FUHCHAU. 71 

subject forwarded to the emperor, they resorted to 
the following device to meet the emergency. A large 
quantity of military caps and coats were purchased 
or hired for the occasion, and then the occupants of 
every shop in the entire line of streets along which 
the -commissioner would pass were ordered to furnish 
a man to wear the uniform, and stand in front of the 
shop while the procession was defiling through the 
street. The plan was ingenious, and thoroughly Chi- 
nese ; but unexpected difficulties were encountered in 
endeavoring to enforce it. The people cried out 
against such barefaced imposition, and one man per- 
sistently refused to comply with the requisition. 
The police arrested him and proceeded summarily to 
punish him. This was too much even for the Chi- 
nese, and all the people promptly united to resist the 
execution of the odious order. This precipitated a 
collision with the government, and the excitement 
instantly spread throughout the whole city. Busi- 
ness was suspended, all the shops were closed, the 
streets were filled with the excited populace; the 
government offices were surrounded by vociferating 
crowds, unpopular officers were attacked in the 
street, their sedans were broken and their sedan- 
bearers were beaten. The imperial commissioner 
was unable to leave the city, the people declaring 
they would capture him if he made the attempt ; the 
people forced their way into the viceroy's palace, 
defacing the furniture and rudely jostling his excel- 
lency; and thus, for about two days, the people 
defied the government, and the city was entirely in 
their power, During all this time the great mastj 



72 GOVERNMENT OF CHINA. 

of the people were quiet and orderly, and even those 
who were active in the insurrection demeaned them- 
selves with studied propriety, stated calmly and care- 
fully the circumstances necessitating their present 
proceedings, and, availing themselves of this favor- 
able opportunity, presented a list of their griev- 
ances for the consideration of the government. The 
issue of the movement was that the government 
authorities promised free and full pardon to all who 
were engaged in these violent proceedings, and also 
agreed to redress promptly all the grievances of 
which the people complained. 

We have seen that the Chinese believe their 
emperor to be the vicegerent of Heaven, and that he 
rules the empire by divine right. In case of a local 
disturbance, where the conflict lies between the peo- 
ple and the local authorities, the friends of the move- 
ment will seek to justify it by charging the author- 
ities with defrauding and oppressing the people 
against the instructions of the emperor, and without 
his knowledge, and that hence this popular outbreak 
is only an appeal to the emperor against the treachery 
of his agents. But any direct and avowed infringe- 
ment of the imperial prerogative, any organized 
resistance of the imperial mandates, they characterize 
as both treason and sacrilege. All who participate 
in such movements are called thieves, and their lead- 
ers head-thieves or robbers. When the rumors of 
the great rebellion first reached Fuhchau in 1852, 
the people spoke of the movement with evident dis- 
approbation ; but when it began to assume gigantic 
proportions, when half the empire had succumbed to 



EMPEROR'S DIVINE RIGHT. 73 

its prowess, I observed that the people gradually- 
changed, their nomenclature and began to use respect- 
ful language in speaking of it. Conversing one 
day with an intelligent Chinese on the subject, I 
inquired : 

"How does it happen that the insurgent chief 
makes such rapid progress, if the emperor holds his 
authority and position by divine right ?" 

After thinking a few moments he gravely replied : 
"The emperor claims to be the vicegerent of 
Heaven, ruling the empire by divine right, and he 
proves it by keeping possession of the empire against 
all enemies ; but if the insurgent chief can defeat the 
imperial armies and seize upon the throne, that dis- 
proves the emperor's claim, and shows that with the 
insurgent chief now rests the divine right to govern 
the empire." < 



74 LAWS OF CHINA. 



CHAPTER V. 

LAWS OF CHINA. 

" The laws of China," says Dr. "Williams, " form 
an edifice, the foundations of which were laid by Li 
Kwei twenty centuries ago. Successive dynasties 
have been building thereon, adding, altering, pulling 
down, and building up, as circumstances seemed to 
require. A history of the changes and additions 
they have undergone, if there were materials for 
such an account, would contribute much to show the 
progress of the Chinese in civilization and good gov- 
ernment." The Chinese entertain a profound re- 
spect for the laws contained in their national code. 
Sir George Staunton remarks that " all the Chinese 
seem to desire is the just and impartial execution of 
these laws, independent of caprice and uninfluenced 
by corruption. That the laws of China, on the con- 
trary, are very frequently violated by those who are 
their administrators and constitutional guardians, 
there can be, unfortunately, no question; but to 
what extent, comparatively with the execution of 
laws in other countries, must at present be very 
much a matter of conjecture. At the same time it 
may be observed, as something in favor of the Chi- 
nese system, that there are substantial grounds for 



CLASSIFICATION. 75 

believing that neither flagrant nor repeated acts of 
injustice do, in point of fact, often, in any rank or 
station, ultimately escape with impunity." 

This code of laws is called by the Chinese Ta 
Tsing Liuh Li, that is, Statutes and Rescripts of the 
Great Pure Dynasty, and contains all the published 
laws of the empire. The laws are classified under 
seven leading heads, namely, General, Civil, Fiscal, 
Ritual, Military, Criminal, and those relating to pub- 
lic works ; and are subdivided into four hundred and 
thirty-six sections, called liuh, to which are appended 
the li, or modern clauses, which limit, explain, or 
alter them. These li, or modern clauses, are now 
much more numerous and voluminous than the orig- 
inal statutes. The clauses are attached to each stat- 
ute, and have the same force; but there are no au- 
thorized reports of cases and decisions, either of the 
provincial or supreme courts, published for general 
use, though a record of them is kept in the court 
where such decisions are made, and in some instances 
these adjudged cases have been published as a guide 
to officers. A new edition of this code is published 
by imperial authority once in five years, and to the 
edition published in 1799 an extensive collection of 
notes, comments, and cases illustrating the practice 
and theory of the laws was appended. A very brief 
sketch of this body of laws is all we can here present 
to the reader. 

The General Laws, in forty-seven sections, contain 
the principles and definitions which guide the ad- 
ministrator in the construction and application of 
the entire code. 



76 LAWS OF CHINA. 

The Civil Laws, in twenty-eight sections, are di- 
vided into two books, one of which refers to the 
system of government, the other to the conduct of 
magistrates, etc. 

The Fiscal Laws, in eighty-two sections, contain 
rules for enrolling the people, for succession and in- 
heritance, for regulating marriages between different 
classes of society, for guarding granaries and treas- 
uries, for preventing and punishing smuggling, for 
restraining usury, and for overseeing shops. 

The Ritual Laws, in twenty-six sections, contain 
the regulations for state sacrifices and ceremonies, 
for the worship of ancestors, and for whatever per- 
tains to heterodox and magical sects or teachers. 

The Military Laws, in seventy-one sections, pro- 
vide for the protection of the imperial palace, for the 
government of the army, the guarding of frontier 
passes, the management of the imperial cattle, and 
the forwarding of dispatches by the couriers. 

The Criminal Laws are arranged in eleven books, 
containing in all one hundred and seventy sections, 
and constitute the most important division in the 
whole code. These laws relate to robbery, high 
treason and renunciation of allegiance, to homicide 
and murder, quarreling and fighting, abusive lan- 
guage, indictments, disobedience to parents, and 
false accusations, bribery and corruption, forging 
and frauds, incest and adultery, arrests and escapes 
of criminals, their imprisonment and execution, and 
lastly, miscellaneous offenses. 

The laws referring to public works and ways, 
in thirteen sections, contain regulations concerning 



CHARACTER. 77 

the weaving of interdicted patterns, the repairing of 
dikes, and the construction and preservation of gov- 
ernment edifices, canals, forts, walls, mausolea, gran- 
aries, manufactories, etc. 

A writer in the Edinburg Review has pronounced 
the following encomium on this code : " When we 
turn from the ravings of the Zendavesta or the Pura- 
nas, to the tone of sense and business in this Chinese 
collection, it is like passing from darkness to light ; 
from the drivelings of dotage to the exercise of an 
improved understanding ; and redundant and minute 
as these laws are in many particulars, we scarcely 
know a European code that is at once so copious 
and so consistent, or is nearly so freed from intricacy, 
bigotry, and fiction." Dr. Williams, referring to the 
same subject, says : " A broad survey of Chinese 
legislation, judged of by its results and the general 
appearance of society, gives an impression of an ad- 
ministration far superior to that of any other Asiatic 
country. The defects in this remarkable body of 
laws arise from several sources. The degree of lib- 
erty that can safely be awarded to the subject is not 
defined in it, and his rights are unknown in law. 
The government is despotic, but having no efficient 
military power in its hands, it resorts to a minuteness 
of legislation upon the practice of social and relative 
virtues and duties which interferes with their observ- 
ance ; though it must be remembered that there is no 
pulpit or Sabbath-school in China to expound and 
enforce them from a higher code, and the laws must 
be the chief guide in most cases. The code also ex- 
hibits a minute attention to trifles, and an effort to 



?8 LAWS OF CHINA. 

legislate for every possible contingency, which must 
perplex the judge when dealing with the infinite 
shades of difference occurring in human actions. 
There are now many vague and obsolete statutes, 
ready to serve as a handle to prosecute offenders for 
the gratification of private pique ; and although 
usage and precedent both combine to prove their dis- 
use, yet malice and bribery can easily effect their re- 
viviscence and application to the case. 

" Sheer cruelty, except in cases of treason against 
the emperor, cannot be charged against this code as 
a whole, though many of the laws seem designed to 
operate chiefly in terrorem, and the penalty is placed 
higher than the punishment really intended to be in- 
flicted, that the emperor may have scope for mercy, 
or, as he says, for leniency beyond the limits of the 
law." The principle on which this is done is evident, 
and the commonness of the practice proves that such 
an exercise of mercy has its effect. The laws of 
China are not altogether unmeaning words, though 
the degree of efficiency in their execution is subject 
to endless variations. Some officers are lenient, 
others severe ; the people in some provinces are in- 
dustrious and peaceable, in others turbulent and 
averse to quiet occupations, so that one is likely to 
form a juster idea of their administration by looking 
at the results as seen in the general aspect of society, 
and judging of the tree by its fruits, than by drawing 
inferences applicable to the whole machine of state 
from particular instances of oppression and insubor- 
dination, as is so frequently the case with travelers 
and writers." 



SAFEGUARDS AND CHECKS. 79 

The Chinese government has evidently sought to 
obtain and perpetuate a just and equitable adminis- 
tration of its laws. To effect this, it selects its civil 
officers only from the literary class of society ; it dis- 
tributes the civil officers of the empire equally be- 
tween the Manchus and Chinese, who are required to 
inform on each other; it forbids any man to hold 
office in his native province; it requires constant 
rotation in office, no officer being allowed to remain 
more than three or four years in one office ; it prohib- 
its officers from marrying in the jurisdictions under 
their control, from owning land there, and from em- 
ploying son, brother, or near relative as an officer 
under them. Censors are appointed by the emperor, 
whose duty it is to point out all errors of administra- 
tion ; members of the imperial clan attend the meet- 
ings of the boards at Pekin, to observe and report 
whatever they may deem amiss, or of interest, to the 
emperor and his council ; and in all the upper depart- 
ments of the general and provincial governments a 
system of espionage is strictly enforced. In addition' 
to this, there is made out, triennially, by the board of 
civil office, a catalogue of the merits and demerits of 
all the officers in the empire, for the imperial inspec- 
tion. The imperial code ordains " that if any officer 
of government, whose situation gives him power and 
control over the people, not only does not conciliate 
them by proper indulgence, but exercises his author- 
ity in a manner so inconsistent with the established 
laws and approved usages of the empire that, the 
sentiments of the once loyal subjects being changed 
by his oppressive conduct, they assemble tumult- 



80 LAWS OP CHINA. 

uously and openly rebel, and drive him at length 
from the capital city and seat of his government, 
such officer shall suffer death." It would seem as 
though these provisions were amply sufficient to se- 
cure the desired end, and yet, notwithstanding all 
such safeguards and penalties, the administration of 
the laws in China must be characterized as, in the 
main, venal, tricky, extortionate, and cruel. Ma- 
gaillans, who, after residing nearly forty years in 
China, ought to be good authority on such questions, 
has left on record his opinion touching this point. 
" It seems," says he, " as if the legislators had omit- 
ted nothing, and that they had foreseen all incon- 
veniences that were to be feared ; so that I am per- 
suaded no kingdom in the world could be better gov- 
erned and more happy, if the conduct and probity of 
the officers were but answerable to the institution of 
the government. But in regard that they have no 
knowledge of the true God, nor of the eternal rewards 
and punishments of the other world, they are subject 
to no remorses of conscience, they place all their hap- 
piness in pleasure, in dignity, and riches ; and there- 
fore, to obtain these fading advantages, they violate 
all the laws of God and man, trampling under foot 
religion, reason, justice, honesty, and all the rights of 
consanguinity and friendship. The inferior officers 
mind nothing but how to defraud their superiors, 
their superiors how to defraud the supreme tribunals, 
and all together plot how to cheat the king, which 
they know how to do with so much cunning and 
address, making use in their memorials of words and 
expressions so soft, so honest, so respectful, so humble, 



CORRUPT ADMINISTRATION. 81 

and full of adulation, and of reasons so plausible that 
the deluded prince frequently takes the greatest false- 
hoods for solemn truths. So that the people, finding 
themselves continually oppressed and overwhelmed 
without any reason, murmur, and raise seditions and 
revolts, which have caused so much ruin and so many 
changes in the empire. Nevertheless, there is no 
reason that the excellency and perfection of the laws 
of China should suffer for the depravity and wicked- 
ness of the magistrates." 

The Chinese themselves speak out boldly on this 
subject. One of the imperial censors says : " Among 
the magistrates are many who, without fear or shame, 
connive at robbery and deceit. Formerly horse- 
stealers were wont to conceal themselves in some 
secret place, but now they openly bring their plunder 
to market for sale. When they perceive a person to 
be weak, they are in the habit of stealing his property 
and then returning it to him for money, while the 
officers, on hearing it, treat is as a trivial matter, and 
blame the sufferer for not being more cautious. 
Thieves are apprehended with warrants in their pos- 
session, showing that when they were sent out to 
arrest thieves, they took advantage of the opportu- 
nity to steal for themselves. At a village near the 
imperial residence there are very many plunderers 
concealed, who go out by night in companies of 
twenty or thirty persons, carrying weapons with 
them ; they frequently call up the inhabitants, break 
open the doors, and having satisfied themselves with 
what food and wine they can obtain, they threaten 

and extort money, which if they cannot procure they 

6 



82 LAWS OF CHINA. 

seize the clothes, ornaments, or cattle of the people 
and then depart. They also frequently go to shops, 
and having broken open the shutters, impudently 
demand money, and, failing to get it, they set fire to 
the shop with the torches they carry in their hands. 
If the master of the house apprehends a few of them 
and sends them to the magistrate, he merely im- 
prisons and beats them, and before half a month 
allows them to run away." Another censor, in 
speaking of the police, says : " They no sooner get a 
warrant to bring up witnesses than they assail both 
plaintiff and defendant for money to pay their expens- 
es, from the amount of ten taels (ounces) of silver to 
several scores of taels. Then the clerks must have 
double what the runners get ; and if their demands 
are not met they contrive every species of annoyance. 
Then, again, if there are people of property in the 
neighborhood, they .will not fail to implicate them. 
They plot also with pettifogging lawyers to get up 
accusations against people^ and threaten and frighten 
them out of their money." 

The effect of all this upon the minds of the people 
may be readily imagined. With such flagrant per- 
versions of justice before their eyes, the people have 
become afraid of all contact with the officers of gov- 
ernment. Their great study is to keep out of the 
clutches of the law, and they will submit to almost 
anything rather than fall into the hands of those myr- 
midons who surround the government offices. The 
government of China, in fact, is an unmixed despot- 
ism. Resting on the patriarchal theory, and con- 
structed with all, the functions of a refined and ubiq- 



INCIDENT. 83 

nitons tyranny, it has grown np into a vast and pow- 
erful system, of government, the necessary effect of 
which is to destroy all confidence, and infuse universal 
suspicion among the people. 

The following incident, which came under the per- 
sonal observation of the writer, is pertinent to this 
aspect of the subject : 

In the Fing-Tiua prefecture of the Fuh-kien prov- 
ince, some fifty miles southward from Fuhchau, there 
are two factions, known as the black flag and white 
flag parties, between whom a bitter feud has existed 
for many years. The frequent collisions between 
these hostile factions keep the prefecture in a state of 
perpetual excitement and alarm, and, as a natural 
consequence, business is frequently suspended, the 
harvests become uncertain, and at times it is unsafe 
for travelers to enter the territory. The government 
has frequently sought to adjust the difficulty, but 
with only in different success ; indeed, it has often 
occurred that the approach of government troops 
produces a temporary combination of the rival fac- 
tions, with a view to a joint onslaught on the common 
foe. During 1850-3 these factions seemed to be con- 
stantly at war with each other. Everything was 
thrown into confusion, and the government's local 
authorities were utterly unable to restrain the people 
or enforce the laws. At this point the lieutenant- 
governor of the province collected an army, pro- 
ceeded to the disturbed prefecture, and after a cam- 
paign of perhaps four months, returned in triumph 
to Fuhchau, proclaiming the entire pacification of 
the belligerent factions. The rejoicings consequent 



84 LAWS OF CHINA. 

on this gratifying oonsnmmation had scarcely ceased, 
when it was reported and extensively credited that 
the recent adjustment of difficulties had been effected 
by the most disreputable means ; that, in short, the 
contending factions had bribed the governor to with- 
draw his troops, and forward to the emperor a glow- 
ing but utterly mendacious report of the victories 
won by the imperial troops, and the complete settle- 
ment of the whole affair. A literary gentleman in 
possession of all the facts in the case, memorialized 
the emperor on the subject. The memorial reached 
the emperor, and a commissioner was immediately 
dispatched to Fuhchau to investigate the matter. On 
arriving at Fuhchau, the commissioner was waited 
on by the lieutenant-governor, who soon arranged 
the preliminaries of the investigation entirely to 
his own satisfaction. The lieutenant-governor then 
sent for the author of the memorial, and partly by 
threats, but chiefly by bribes, induced him to write 
out a voluntary confession of his guilt, stating that 
the charges against the governor contained in his 
memorial to the emperor were utterly false, that the 
governor is in all respects a most upright and virtu- 
ous officer, that he can offer no justification for the 
malicious slanders contained in his memorial, and 
that he now begs the emperor to inflict upon him 
the severest punishment. Strange to say, this " vol- 
untary confession " was duly embodied in the com- 
missioner's official report of the case to the emperor, 
and in a short time an imperial rescript was received 
at Fuhchau, exonerating the governor from the 
charges preferred against him, and sentencing the 



ANOTHER INCIDENT. 85 

author of the memorial to immediate banishment be- 
yond the northern frontiers. 

Another characteristic incident on this subject may 
close this chapter. When Europeans and Americans 
first went to live at Fuhchau, under the provisions of 
the treaties formed by their respective governments 
with the emperor of China, some of the people of 
the city, influenced by the bad precedent established 
at Canton, announced that foreigners could not be 
allowed to reside within the city wall. The English 
consul, however, failing to obtain a suitable residence 
in the suburbs, and having found an eligible and pic- 
turesque situation within the city wall on a hill called 
Ushih-shan, (black stone hill,) proceeded at once 
to occupy it. This gave great offense to the lit- 
erary gentry of Fuhchau, and they ceased not to 
send up to the emperor the most urgent and elabo- 
rately written remonstrances against this invasion of 
their intra-mural city precincts by the ruthless for- 
eigner. They stated that the residence of foreigners 
on the hill within the city wall was exerting a most 
deleterious influence on the trade and health of the 
city, and that it was every way exceedingly offensive 
to the people. Yielding at length to these persistent 
appeals, the emperor dispatched a commission to 
Fuhchau, to examine and report upon the subject. 
When the members of the commission reached Fuh- 
chau, they found that the English Consul was really 
living on the Ushih-shan, that the hill was indeed 
within the city wall, and that the literary gentry of 
the city were anxious for his removal. But they soon 
ascertained it was useless to attempt driving him 



86 LAWS OF CHINA. 

away. The case was an embarrassing one, but Chi- 
nese ingenuity was equal to the emergency. The 
history of Fuhchau states that in ancient times the 
Ushih-shan, which is now within the city wall, was 
then outside the city limits. Availing themselves of 
this important historic fact, the commissioners in pre- 
paring their report for the emperor, gravely stated 
that, on investigating the subject, they found that the 
allegations of the memorialists were in the main cor- 
rect ; that the English consul did certainly live on a 
hill called Ushih-shan, and that there is a hill by 
that name within the city wall. " But," continued 
the commissioners, "we find there are two hills in 
Fuhchau called Ushih-shan, one being within, the 
other outside the city wall, and it is on the Ushih- 
shan outside the wall that the English consul is 
living. 



CLASSIFICATION. 87 



CHAPTER VI. 

RELIGIONS I CONFUCIANISM. 

The religious notions and practices of the Chinese 
have been divided into three systems : Confucianism, 
Tauism or Rationalism, and Budhism; and the 
classification is convenient, and sufficiently correct 
for all practical purposes. This arrangement is in 
accordance with Chinese ideas on this subject. If 
you were to ask a Chinese how many systems of 
religious belief and practice there are in his country 
he will invariably answer three, and will name them 
in the order just given. And yet if the reader infers 
from this that there are three distinct classes in Chi- 
nese society, distinguished by these religious charac- 
teristics, the inference would be incorrect. It is 
utterly impossible to distribute Chinese society 
according to this arrangement. All that can be 
stated with strict propriety on this point is, that in 
Chinese society there is a class in whose minds the 
Confucian element predominates; another class in 
whom Rationalism is the leading characteristic ; and 
a third class with whom the Budhistic element is in 
the ascendency. At the same time it is true that the 
so-called Confucian will resort to the teachings and 
practices of both the Rationalists and Budhists 



88 EELIGIONS: CONFUCIANISM. 

whenever such a step will subserve his own interests ; 
that the Rationalist will avail himself of all the 
helps which Confucianism and Budhism proffer; 
and that the Budhist will supplement the teachings 
of the great sage by the axioms of Confucius and 
Lau-tsz. We thus reach the seemingly paradoxical 
conclusion that in the same Chinese mind there co- 
exist three distinct systems of religious faith. A 
brief examination of the subject will aid us in appre- 
ciating and explaining this mental phenomenon. 

Confucianism confines itself to the enunciation and 
application of the principles of morals and political 
economy ; it aims at teaching a man to govern him- 
self, the child to obey its parents, the citizen to 
respect and conform to the laws of society, and the 
subject to revere and implicitly follow 'the commands 
of his ruler. All these principles and duties it seeks 
to substantiate and enforce by constant appeals to 
what might be called the moral sense ; and hence it 
assumes the form and character of a system of moral 
philosophy underlying and vitalizing their social 
system and the entire scheme of political economy on 
which rests the stupendous fabric of their general 
government. Its sole tendency is to qualify man for 
society and government; but adduces no divine 
authority for its teachings, fails to communicate any- 
thing with regard to man's origin, nature, responsi- 
bilities to a higher power, or future destiny, and is 
utterly silent touching those questions which in all 
ages press upon the human mind and indicate the 
universal and imperative wants of the race. Ration- 
alism is an intensified form of human selfishness. It 



RATIONALISM. 89 

practically deifies man, and to ' him subordinates 
heaven, earth, and hell. Man is enthroned; all 
recognized influences, celestial and terrestrial, are 
held to subserve his purposes, and are valuable and 
worthy of respect only as they contribute to this end. 
Eesting on an original basis of superb transcendent- 
alism, the system degenerated rapidly and utterly 
into utilitarianism, epicureanism, and materialism. 
"With it the quid utile is omnipotent ; cui bono is the 
universal text of excellence. Nothing is good that 
does not now contribute to man's personal profit ; 
nothing worthy of attention that does not directly 
aid man in attaining the object of his present desires. 
Confucianism, it would seem, fails by attempting too 
much, Rationalism by attempting too little. The 
former is an effort to erect, on an insufficient basis 
of merely human authority and motives, the stupen- 
dous structures of social order and political govern- 
ment ; the latter, starting with magnificent assump- 
tions, suddenly descends to alchymy, jugglery, and 
buffoonery ; the former is a grand effort of mortals 
to reach the gods, the latter an insane attempt to 
precipitate both gods and men into utter chaos and 
ruin. Budhism differs from both the preceding 
systems. It contemns matter, revels in the ideal, and 
professes to supply aliment for man's spiritual wants. 
Its doctrine of metempsychosis or transmigration of 
souls, associated with its belief in a state of future 
rewards and punishments, furnished a basis for pow- 
erful appeals to the popular conscience. Budh, its 
great object of worship, is invested with a character 
incomprehensibly sublime ; its idols are massive and 



90 religions: Confucianism. 

splendid, and its ritnal of worship gorgeons and im- 
posing. The system is admirably adapted to arrest 
the attention, delight the imagination, and kindle 
the enthusiasm of its devotees. It opens before the 
mind a boundless field for metaphysical speculation, 
and thus addresses a faculty of the human mind 
unnoticed by the other systems to which we have 
referred. From this rapid sketch we observe how 
these three systems complement each other, and 
hence can readily understand how they co-exist in 
the same mind, being in fact mutually supporting, 
instead of mutually destructive. "We shall now give 
a more extended notice of these forms of heathenism 
which exist in China. 

Confucianism, as we have already intimated, is a 
system of philosophy in the departments of morals 
and politics, rather than a system of religious faith 
and practice. It has, however, some characteristics 
which justify its appearance in this classification as 
one of the religions of China. The system was 
founded by Confucius, who, in connection with his 
immediate disciples, edited or composed the writings 
which contain its doctrines. Confucius (as his name 
has been Latinized by the Jesuits) was born about 
B. C. 550, in the kingdom of Lu, now comprised 
within the Shantung province, in the northeastern 
part of the Chinese empire. He was the son of a 
statesman, was the chief minister of his native king- 
dom, and spent the larger portion of his life in official 
employment. He was a reformer, seeking to correct 
the vices of society and of the government, and 
proved his sincerity by resigning his official positions 



CONFUCIUS. 91 

when he found his counsels unavailing. He was re- 
markable for his simplicity, modesty, and upright- 
ness ; and his reformatory efforts were so successful 
that he gathered three thousand disciples, of whom 
seventy-two distinguished themselves by their devo- 
tion to their master and their observance of his pre- 
cepts. He died in the seventy-third year of his age. 
Discoursing on the character of Confucius, Dr. Mor- 
rison remarks that he " was engaged in politics all 
his life ; and even his ethics dwell chiefly on those 
social duties which have a political bearing. A 
family is the prototype of his nation or empire ; and 
he lays at the bottom of his system, not the visionary 
notions of independence and equality, but principles 
of dependence and subordination, as of children to 
parents, the younger to the elder, etc. These prin- 
ciples are perpetually inculcated in the Confucian 
writings, as well as embodied in solemn ceremonies, 
and in apparently trivial forms of mere etiquette. 
It is probably this feature of his doctrines that has 
made him such a favorite with all the governments of 
China for many centuries past and down to this day. 
These principles and forms are early instilled into 
young minds, and form the basis of their moral senti- 
ment. The elucidation and enforcement of these 
principles and forms are the business of students who 
aspire to be magistrates or statesmen, and of the 
wealthy who desire nominal rank in the country; 
and it is, in all likelihood, owing chiefly to the influ- 
ence of these principles on the national mind and 
conscience, that China holds together the largest as- 
sociated population in the world." 



92 KELIGIOoSTS : CONFUCIANISM. 

Confucius made very few remarks on religious sub- 
jects : he admitted, indeed, that he had no certain 
knowledge concerning the gods ; that they were above 
and beyond human comprehension ; and laid it down 
as an axiom that we ought to concern ourselves about 
the duties growing out of the present state of things, 
concerning which we have certain knowledge, rather 
than to trouble ourselves about supposed duties grow- 
ing out of our fancied relations to the future, of 
which we know nothing. " Not knowing even life," 
said he, " how can we know death ?" He regarded 
himself as commissioned by Heaven to restore the 
doctrine and usages of the ancient kings. " If Heaven 
is resolved that my doctrine shall not fail," said he in 
a moment of apparent danger, " the men of Kuang 
can do nothing to me." " There are three things," 
said he, " to beware of through life. "When a man 
is young let him beware of his appetites ; when mid- 
dle-aged, of his passions ; and when old, of covetous- 
ness especially." " How can a mean man serve his 
prince ?" inquired the sage. " "When out of office his 
sole object is to attain it, and when he has attained 
it his sole object is to Ite&p it. In his unprincipled 
dread of losing his place he will readily go all 
lengths." In the penal code of China it is provided 
that "children and near relatives or dependants 
shall not be punishable for concealing the faults 
[crimes] of those with whom they dwell." This 
enactment is manifestly founded on the precept of 
Confucius : " The father may conceal the faults 
[crimes] of the son, and the son those of the father ; 
virtue consists in this." On one occasion he replied 



WOESHIP OF CONFUCIUS. 93 

to a disciple : " He that offends against Heaven has 
no one to whom he can pray." Another of his 
aphorisms is : " Life and death are decreed by fate ; 
riches and poverty rest with Heaven." 

The influence of these doctrines is almost omnipo- 
tent in forming the character of the Chinese. The 
official and literary classes of China may be regarded 
as par excellence Confucianists ; but all classes are 
powerfully influenced by the teachings of the great 
sage. In the family, the school, the forum, the courts 
of justice, and the palace of the mandarin, these doc- 
trines constitute the authoritative standard of pro- 
priety, morality, and political economy. 

The following graphic account of the ceremonies 
observed at the annual worship of Confucius is by 
the Rev. Dr. Wentworth, a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Mission at Fuhchau : 

" There are sixty-three temples in honor of the 
great Chinese sage in the Fuh-kien province, and ten 
in this department, two of which are located within 
the city of Fuhchau. One of these was burned 
down eight or nine years ago, and rebuilt by the 
mandarins on a scale of unusual grandeur and liber- 
ality. It is one of the finest buildings in the city, 
and, according to a tablet near its entrance, cost 
about fifty thousand dollars. It is constructed sim- 
ilarly to ordinary Chinese buildings, one-storied, in 
the form of a hollow-square, with a spacious court in 
the center, apartments on each side, and the main 
temple at the end, opposite the entrance. This has 
a fine portico, supported by lofty columns, and the 
fretted roof within is sustained by columns of solid 



94 KELIGIONS: CONFUCIANISM. 

granite, of enormous size and strength. Here are no 
idols, but ancestral tablets supply their places in the 
gilded shrines. In the center is that of Confucius, 
on the sides are those of twelve of his most cele- 
brated disciples, six on each side, and in the temple 
apartments, ranging along the outer court, are the 
shrines and tablets of some seventy followers of lesser 
fame. 

" The worship of the great philosopher is monopo- 
lized by the literati; and the mandarins, who are 
literary graduates of the highest distinction, are the 
only priests who officiate upon the occasion. The 
sacrifice takes place twice a year, in the second and 
eighth months. It is performed before daylight in 
the morning, and the common people are rigidly 
excluded. Foreigners having seldom witnessed the 
ceremony anywhere, and never, we think, in the 
chief temple of a departmental city, several of us 
determined to gain access to the rites if possible, 
though it is very difficult to get into the temple itself 
during the periods that intervene between the sacri- 
ficial days, at which times it is thrown open for a 
brief space to the gaping public. On the afternoon 
of September 10, 1858, Rev. M. Fearnley, of the 
Church of England Mission, Rev. J. Doolittle, of the 
American Board Mission, and the writer, from the 
Methodist Episcopal Mission, went to the preparatory 
rehearsal of the rites in an old temple, aside from 
the actual theater of the contemplated festive display. 
All the actors were in full dress, and went through 
their parts under instruction, that there might be no 
hesitancy or blundering on the following morning. 



PRELIMINARIES. 95 

Mr. Doolittle and myself took beds at Mr. Fearnley's, 
who lives inside the city wall, and at three o'clock in 
the morning were roused by our host, and were soon 
under way, following a man with a lantern along the 
silent and deserted streets, to the great discomposure 
of watchmen and dogs, to the scene of action. "W"e 
were an hour too early; but better that than five 
minutes too late. Their magnificences, the man- 
darins, had not yet made their appearance, and we 
had opportunity to inspect everything unmolested. 
A burst of music and a shout at length indicated the 
coming of the magnates. Their first business was to 
get the ' huang-kiangs,' 'foreign babies,' out of the 
sacred precincts, and a mandarin of high rank came 
to request us to go outside, enforcing his errand with 
the needless plea : ' If you were worshiping in your 
churches you would not wish us to come in and dis- 
turb you.' "We replied : ' Certainly not, and we have 
not come hither to disturb you, but to see the rites, 
and if we may not remain inside, pray let us stand 
next one of the great doors on the portico outside, 
where we may see what is passing on both within 
and without.' To this he consented, much to the 
displeasure of the officers' servants, a crowd of whom 
were driven off the portico without ceremony, though 
they insisted that they had as good a right there as 
those ' foreign devils.' They were more anxious to see 
us than the worship. ' You see them every day in the 
year,' said the remorseless lictor, under a hat like a 
sugar-loaf, with a fearful crack of his long whip. 
The platform was cleared, and the ceremonies began. 
The darkness was dispelled by rows of gaudy Ian- 



96 religions: Confucianism. 

terns and a forest of blazing torches. The court was 
filled with mandarins and their servants. Privileged 
spectators from the literary class, with their attend- 
ants, crowded all the available space below. In front 
of the great central door of the temple, on the por- 
tico, was a band of mnsicians with flutes and 'soft 
recorders,' and another of boys fantastically dressed 
in the regalia of the occasion. Within were musi- 
cians chanting vocally, accompanied by the instru- 
ments without, the praises of the sage. The loud 
voice of a crier within the temple, and the loud 
response of a herald below, indicated that all was 
ready. Clouds of incense filled the temple, while 
two or three mandarins, in full official dress and 
caps, preceded by attendants, ascended the steps and 
entered the lofty doors on either side, prostrating 
themselves with the head to the pavement before the 
shrines successively, and offering the various articles 
placed in their hands by the attendants for that pur- 
pose to Confucius and his favorite followers. This 
was repeated three times in succession, the officers 
retiring and re-entering with the same stately cere- 
mony on each occasion. The offerings were animal 
and vegetable. On a broad table in front of the 
shrine and altar of Confucius himself, lay shrouded 
the carcass of a whole ox, denuded of his skin, and 
on either side of him a pig and a goat. On the altar 
were vases of flowers and plates of cooked provisions, 
so that the philosopher might gratify his immediate 
appetite, as well as lay in a stock for salting down. 
Before the shrines of the twelve were pigs and goats, 
but the seventy outsiders were obliged to content 



PIOUS FEAUD. 97 

themselves with offerings of grain and vegetables 
alone. We had opportunity before the ceremony 
to inspect the contents of the urn-like vessels, con- 
taining apparently a quart or two each of rice, millet, 
wheat, and other grains and vegetables ; and found 
our Protestant fondness for the true and the real 
somewhat shocked by discovering that the mouths of 
the vessels had been ingeniously pasted over with 
paper, on which a thin layer of grain had been 
strewn so as to look like a full vessel. We saw one 
where a wag or some curious boy had stuck his finger 
through in experimenting on the depth of the con- 
tents. On inquiring after the reason of this rather 
Romish practice of endeavoring to cheat the denizens 
of the spirit-world, we were told that the form and 
the idea were all that were necessary. Perhaps if 
full vessels were offered in the sixty temples of this 
province, and as many more in other provinces 
throughout the empire, the spirit-sage might get 
more grain than he knew what to do with ; but with 
only a thin layer in each, the aggregate may be no 
more than he can comfortably dispose of, though one 
would think, from the herds of oxen offered, that he 
would have beef to sell. His worshipers, with one 
eye on this fact and another to a commendable 
economy, take care to supply kine of such rascally, 
Pharaoh-like leanness, that his philosophership would 
feel no compunctions in throwing it to his dogs. 

"At one point in the ceremony an official kneeled 
before the shrine of Confucius at a respectful dis- 
tance, and in a loud voice chanted a prayer or hymn 
of praise. The ordinary chants were very sim- 

7 



98 EELIGIONS: CONFUCIANISM. 

pie, consisting of four notes perpetually repeated, 
thus: 






¥EE* 



" The last offering was material for clothing ; a sort 
of coarse silk, in large patches, first offered bodily in 
the temple, and then taken down into the court and 
burned, that it might become spirit-silk in the other 
world. The Budhists usually offer ready-made 
clothing stamped on paper, and burn whole sheets 
covered with pictures of hats and frocks and panta- 
loons, with the idea that they become actual hats and 
coats and pants in the other state, though if the fire 
does not enlarge the articles, or the souls of the wear- 
ers are not shrunk to lilliputian dimensions, the pat- 
terns must be rather scanty. The mandarins send 
Confucius raw material, and thus put him to the ex- 
pense of making it up ; but at the same time give 
him the advantage of having his garments cut after 
the newest style, and by fashionable tailors. I saved 
a piece of the material from the fire to see if it was 
real silk and not paper, which, after the discovery of 
one astonishing fraud in their worship, we thought 
might answer instead of cloth for the 'form and 
idea.' The same 'form and idea' dictates to Ro- 
manists the economy of using, in their churches, 
wooden wax-candles, with a little reservoir of oil at 
the top sufficient to illuminate daylight during an 
hour of worship. In this state of being you might as 
well expect to deceive Satan as a Chinaman ; but as 
soon as he is dead, his relatives send after him the 



THE FINALE. 99 

thinnest possible tin and copper-leaf, and even brown 
paper itself, through fire into the other world, with 
the apprehension that, if it does not convert into 
actnal silver and gold, the spirits will never know the 
difference. About .the first gray streakings of the 
dawn of a cloudy morning the ceremonies concluded, 
the torches were suddenly extinguished, and the ofii- 
cers with their retinues slowly retired." 



100 religions: rationalism and budhism. 



CHAPTER VII. 
religions: rationalism and budhism. 

Rationalism arose in China simultaneously with 
Confucianism. Lau-kiun, or Lautsz, the founder of 
the system, was born B. C. 604, in the kingdom of 
Tsu, now comprised in the province of Hwpeh. He 
has left only one philosophical work, called Tau-Teh- 
King, or Memoir on Reason and Virtue, which em- 
bodies his philosophical writings. Some writers 
have fancied a resemblance and connection between 
the Rationalists of China, the Zoroastrians of Persia, 
the^Essenes of Judea, the Gnostics of the primitive 
Church, and the Eremites of the Thebaid. " All 
material visible forms," says Zautsz, " are only ema- 
nations from Tau, or Reason ; this formed all beings. 
Before their emanation the universe was only an in- 
distinct, confused mass, a chaos of all the elements in 
a state of germ or subtle essence." And again : " All 
the visible parts of the universe, all beings composing 
it, the heavens and all the stellar systems, all have 
been formed of the first elementary matter. Before 
the birth of heaven and earth there existed only an 
immense silence in illimitable space, an immeasurable 
void in endless silence. Reason alone circulated in 
this infinite void and silence." The precepts of 



IDOLS AND PEIESTS. 101 

Lautsz are similar in many respects to the teachings 
of Zeno. They recommend retirement and contem- 
plation as the most effectual means for purifying the 
spiritual nature of man. The passions must be sub- 
jugated, the thoughts disentangled from external ob- 
jects, that the soul, which they describe as merely a 
refined form of matter, may be prepared for im- 
mortality. 

The Rationalists were formerly a numerous and 
powerful sect, but in modern times they have degen- 
erated into magicians and jugglers, destitute alike of 
learning and influence. They worship a great varie- 
ty of idols, among which are found genii, devils, in- 
ferior spirits, and deified men. Their highest divinity 
is Yuh-Hwang-Shangti, a corruption of the ancient 
Shangti of the Chinese classics. The priests of this 
sect allow the hair to grow on the crown of their 
heads, and coil it up in a large bow, through which 
they thrust a large pin. They live in temples, culti- 
vating the grounds attached to them, or wander 
through the country deriving a precarious livelihood 
from the sale of charms and medical nostrums. 
They study astrology, profess to have dealings with 
spirits, and their books are filled with accounts of 
their marvelous performances in this department. 

Budhism, was introduced into China from India 
about A. D. 66. Mtng-Te, the eighth emperor of 
the Han dynasty, influenced by a dream, or by a re- 
markable sentence in the writings of Confucius, 
(" The people of the West have a sage,") dispatched 
an embassy to the West to find the wise man. On 
reaching India the embassy came in contact with 



102 RELIGIONS : RATIONALISM AND BUDHISM. 

the Budhist priests, and returned with them to 
China. Budhism, thus introduced to the Chinese by 
imperial authority, and patronized by successive em- 
perors, spread rapidly among the people, and now 
the empire is full of Budhist temples, while the land 
swarms with Budhist priests. Budhism has its 
trinity. Its disciples say : " Budh is one person, but 
he has three forms." Its sacred books are chiefly 
translations into Chinese from the originals in the 
Pali language, a dialect of the Sanscrit. The five 
precepts or interdicts of Budhism are, 1. Do not kill 
living creatures ; 2. Do not steal ; 3. Do not marry ; 
4. Do not speak falsely; 5. Drink no wine. These 
precepts are addressed to the priests alone. One of the 
favorite axioms of Budhism is : " All things originated 
from nothing, and will revert to nothing." Annihi- 
lation, to the Budhist, is the summit of bliss ; nirvana, 
or nonentity, is his ultimate wish and anticipation. 
There is a striking similarity between the ceremo- 
nies of Budhism and those of the Church of Rome. 
Among these points of resemblance we may notice 
the distinguishing dress of the priests, their tonsure, 
celibacy, professed poverty, and monastic manner of 
life ; the use of the rosary, candles, incense, holy 
water, bells, images, and relics in their worship ; 
their belief in purgatory, their pretended miracles, 
prayers in an unknown tongue, with their endless 
repetitions; the similarity of their altar furniture, 
and the names of their intercessors, as " Goddess of 
Mercy," "Queen of Heaven," and "Holy Mother." 

The ranks of the Budhist priesthood are recruited 
in many ways. One class of recruits comprises those 



kushaist. 103 

who for some reason, as disastrous financial reverses, 
loss of dear friends, disappointment or remorse, wish 
to fly from society. By assuming the prescribed 
vows and costume, all such persons receive a sudden 
translation to the priestly office. Another class com- 
prises those who in infancy or boyhood were adopted 
by the priests, and were by them trained up to be 
their successors in the priesthood. The temples of 
Budhism are innumerable; they occupy the most 
picturesque situations, and command views of the 
most beautiful scenery to be found anywhere in 
China. There is a celebrated Budhist temple on a 
mountain about six miles from the city of Fuhchau. 
It is situated in a most attractive place, and has be- 
come a kind of sanatarium for the members of the 
foreign community at Fuhchau. The following sketch 
of it may prove interesting to the reader : 

At daylight of August 4, 1852, our party, consist- 
ing of Eev. Mr. W., of the " Church Mission," Mrs. 
Maclay, little Ellen, and myself, started for the mon- 
astery. One small native boat, with clean white 
floor, and rowed by a stout Chinaman, while his wife 
held the rudder with one hand, and with the other 
wielded an oar, whose movements corresponded to 
the steady strokes of her husband, was sufficient to 
accommodate the members of the party. Another 
boat of the same size received our baggage. The 
tide is in our favor, and we glide through the span of 
the great stone bridge, thread our way through the 
junks, and soon find ourselves below the shipping, 
quietly passing down the river. In an hour we 
reach the landing-place, and are surrounded by a 



104 religions: rationalism and budhism. 

crowd of the villagers, some curiously gazing at our 
person and clothes, others particularly interested in 
our baggage, while some are earnestly showing us 
that for carrying our goods up the mountain the 
very lowest price they can take is a sum which we 
very well know to be five or six times as much as 
they expect to receive. My trusty boy will attend 
to these matters ; so we go on. Leaving the boat, we 
cross some paddy-fields, and soon come to an old 
temple which stands at the foot of the mountain. It 
is surrounded by a high wall, and the broad boughs 
of the banyans almost hide it from view. Several 
rest-houses here span the road, and there are seats 
where the weary traveler may refresh himself. A 
stream of limpid water issues from a stone wall near 
your seat. Many stone tablets, with long inscrip- 
tions, are placed around ; but I fear the classic style 
of the sentences will prevent us from extracting 
much information from them at present. For the' 
ascent the ladies are indulged with chairs, but the 
gentlemen must trust to their own muscles and sin- 
ews. The road is perhaps ten feet wide, and paved 
with large flat stones. Where the acclivity is not too 
abrupt, the road is plain ; but there are steep places 
where steps are necessary. Rising into the clear air, 
our elevated position affords a fine view of the plain 
below. It is pleasant to halt at the shaded spots and 
enjoy the scene. There winds the broad river, on 
whose placid bosom our boat was moving only a 
few minutes since. The banks are very low, and the 
peasant guides his plow close to the water's edge. 
Branching off from the main channel are small 



SCENERY. 105 

streams, which, after mapping out numerous low isl- 
ands, return their waters into it at irregular intervals. 
Canals, too, innumerable, fed by the river, creep 
through the plain, thus enabling the husbandman 
to irrigate his fields. Tillages, almost hidden by the 
overhanging foliage of the banyan, are seen in all 
directions. There are many fruit orchards scattered 
along the canals, and on the slopes of the hills. 
Further west we see the hill where some of the mis- 
sionaries live. On the right of it, and across the 
plain, lies the great city. Further still to the west the 
eye looks on successive ranges of dark mountains, 
whose rugged peaks shoot up far toward the sky. 
Northward there is the same mountainous prospect ; 
while to the south rise the " Five Tiger Hills," with 
circling ranges of wild hills beyond, which, as they 
approach the sea, seem to divide into ten thousand 
tapering peaks. But we may not now linger ; an 
August sun is sending its first beams athwart our 
path, and we may not lightly meet its scorching 
heat. 

Three rest-houses, placed at irregular distances 
along the road, proffer their refreshing shade and 
seats as we ascend. The trees, mostly pine, throw a 
pleasant shade over us as we pass on. At the last 
rest-house an obsequious priest presses upon us most 
perseveringly a cup of tea and some dried fruits, in 
return for which he expects an extravagant remuner- 
ation. Merchants, officers, etc., from foreign coun- 
tries, pay a pretty round sum, but from missionaries 
mine host must content himself with a few tens of 
cash. Plodding upward on the zigzag road, your 



106 religions: rationalism and budhism. 

high, position renders still more distinct the features 
of the vast plain at your feet. The sun now pours a 
flood of light on the distant mountains, the broad 
river, and the city. Boats of various shapes and 
dimensions are moving on the water. Troops of 
young villagers are threading the narrow, winding 
paths of the rice-fields, going to their morning labors. 
Women, with basket, wood-knife, and rake, are start- 
ing for the mountains in search of fuel. The rustic, 
carrying his plow, and holding in his hand the tether 
of his faithful buffalo, slowly moves on to his toil. 
And if my vision is true, I see many a group of merry 
boys and girls sporting in the shade of the over- 
arching trees that embower the villages. 

But the quick pace of the coolies bids us hasten 
forward. Sure enough, they have reached the sum- 
mit of the spur behind which the monastery is sit- 
uated. The road now slightly descends, and sweeps 
round the southern base of the peak, whose top seems 
lost in the clouds. After a few minutes of quick 
walking, we enter a wooded ravine, and are greeted 
with the sound of falling water. It is a stream 
which, issuing from the rocks far up the mountain, is 
conveyed by an artificial channel to the monastery, 
and then, having supplied the wants of the priests, 
goes dashing downward to the plains, and discharges 
its waters into the Min. A little further, and the 
deep tones of the great bell come floating down the 
ravine. A low wall, old and covered with vines and 
bushes, runs along each side of the road. We pass 
through several gateways, whose columns and arch- 
itraves present bold inscriptions, full of deep mean- 



APPROACH TO THE TEMPLE. 107 

ing, doubtless ; but as the coolies move rapidly, and 
we pedestrians are pretty thoroughly tired, we shall 
not stop to read them. As we near the monastery 
the scenery becomes more beautiful and impressive. 
The road follows the meanderings of the stream to 
which we referred a while ago. Huge camphor-trees, 
with gnarled trunks and immense boughs, throw a 
deep shadow over us ; the stalwart pines send up their 
palmlike forms, waving their high tops like the ban- 
ners of a host ; the graceful bamboo, in silvery lines, 
skirts the course of the mountain stream, or, in thick 
clumps, clusters and glistens on the slopes of the ravine. 
Beneath this leafy canopy a luxuriant undergrowth 
finds a fertile soil and safe protection ; while flowers, 
sweet "wild wood flowers," hang in rich festoons 
from decaying walls and sheltering boughs, or bud 
and bloom on the delicate stem that grows at your 
feet. The high peak towers up just before us, and 
from the appearance of immense tile roofs, darkened 
with age and exposure, we infer the immediate prox- 
imity of the monastery. A few more steps, and the 
vast pile of buildings is in full view ; the bell sends 
forth with increased volume its solemn tones, and 
quickly passing an open space, where the sun pours 
down in its strength, we enter the first suite of 
buildings. 

The history of this, as of all other places of note in 
China, is obscured by absurd legends and pompous 
traditions. According to some accounts, this situa- 
tion, in the time of the " Three States," (A. D. 190- 
317) was chosen for the summer palace of the king. 
The religion of Budh was then highly esteemed, and 



108 RELIGIONS: RATIONALISM AND BUDHISM. 

one of the kings gave this palace to the priests for a 
monastery. Another statement is, that during the 
"Sung dynasty," (950-1280,) a literary chancellor 
erected some buildings on the spot for the use of the 
Budhists. Still another account refers its origin to 
the time of the " Three States." On the occasion of 
his father's death, an officer of high rank selected 
this situation for the grave, constructed the tomb with 
his own hands, built for himself a cottage near by, 
and, giving up his titles and honors, spent his life in 
watching and weeping over the dust of his beloved 
parent. The king, hearing of this instance of filial 
affection, was filled with admiration, and caused 
large and costly buildings to be erected, the care of 
which he committed to the Budhists. Others, dis- 
carding these accounts, tell of certain miraculous 
events which drew to this place the attention of the 
first preachers of Budhism, and entertain themselves 
with various marvelous incidents which, it is said, 
have transpired during the history of the institution. 

"We will now, if you please, look at the temple 
buildings. And the first thought suggested is, that, 
however great may be the antiquity claimed for this 
institution, the present buildings are certainly of 
quite recent date. In fact, the temple records show 
that at two distinct times the buildings, in whole or 
in part, have been destroyed by fire. And though 
we may discredit these statements, still, the building 
materials used by the Chinese being of so perishable 
a nature, we are compelled to attribute to the present 
compact, sound structures a recent origin. 

An area of perhaps an acre is covered by build- 



TEMPLE BUILDINGS. 109 

ings. In the center, and extending from the front to 
the rear, are three large temples, with open courts, 
paved with stones, between them. On each side of 
these principal edifices are the rooms for the priests, 
apartments for strangers and visitors, smaller temples, 
the libraries, and other appurtenances. The build- 
ings, we notice, are only one story high ; they are in 
the main well built and of substantial materials. 
There is, too, a cleanliness about the courts and 
rooms which reflects favorably on the priests. 

A more particular notice of the prominent parts of 
this collection of buildings will enable us to think of 
them with greater satisfaction. The main front looks 
toward the south ; and, as we enter the monastery at 
this point, we may now glance at the first of the three 
temples already referred to. This structure is about 
thirty feet deep and one hundred and twenty feet 
wide. A space in the middle, thirty feet deep by 
fifty feet wide, is occupied by idols, the rest of the 
building being otherwise appropriated. There are 
here six statues of great dimensions. Facing you, on 
entering, is a figure of Budh in a sitting posture. 
The pedestal on which it is placed is elevate^ about 
five feet from the floor. The statue is made of bricks 
and cement, with a bronze gilding. On each side of 
the entrance are placed two images, each being, per- 
haps, ten feet in height. They stand facing each 
other, the space between them being the entrance to 
the temple. These four images represent the minis- 
ters of Budh, and are called "Fung," or messenger; 
" Tieu," or harmony ; " Ju," or rain ; and " Song," 
or "propriety" or "fitness." The first grasps a 



110 EELIGIONS: KATIONALISM AND BUDHISM. 

sword in his right hand, the other is raised as in 
warning, while his black glaring eyes and fierce 
countenance seem to say, "Now or never!" He 
stands upright, and crushes under his feet a black, 
dwarfish figure, with features horribly distorted, rep- 
resenting an evil spirit. The second, " Tieu," looks 
down on you with a jocund face, as he twitches the 
strings of his "guitar" to some fairy strain, which 
mortals may not hear. Beneath his feet, too, as also 
of the others, there writhes a black, dwarfish figure. 
" Ju," the third, stands there with an umbrella half 
raised, in expectation of a shower. " Song," the last 
figure, holds in his left hand a struggling serpent, 
while in his right he holds up a ball, the precious jewel 
taken from the bowels of the enraged serpent. This 
figure is to my mind deeply interesting. The Bible 
tells us of a serpent, of souls lost by the fall, and of 
One who " bruised the serpent's head." In the figure 
before me I saw some points of close, striking resem- 
blance to these truths. It is difficult to get the pre- 
cise idea of this figure, as the priests themselves secern 
to have confused notions on the subject. They say, 
however, that this serpent, after living thousands of 
years, secreted this precious jewel, that man was un- 
able to obtain it, and that this god accomplished the 
work. Many interesting thoughts are suggested by 
the analogy between this tradition and the work of 
Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world. Whence 
came the idea embodied in the figure before me ? Is 
it a fragment of those rays which, broken off from 
the great sun of truth, are ever and anon discovered 
among the old nations of the East ? Budhism being 



IMAGES AND BUILDINGS. Ill 

of Indian origin, it is evident that we may trace this 
tradition to the same country. But whence did 
India obtain it % The mind of the Christian at once 
reverts to the " oracles of God." And there is abund- 
ant evidence to believe that India owes to the 
ancient records of the Bible whatever of truth is 
found in her mythology. " Harcourt," in his " Doc- 
trine of the Deluge," maintains that the " patriarchs 
were deified in India, beginning with JSToah and his 
sons ;" also, that " Noah's grandson, Phut, was 
Budli, whose name was changed into Fo and Po; 
hence the river Padus and his Footstep the Sreepad." 
(Yide " Doctrine of the Deluge," vol. i, Table of 
Contents.) The Memoirs of Sir Stamford Raffles 
throw light on this interesting subject; also, Sir 
"William Jones in " The Institutes of Menu." 

To return to our story. Immediately in the rear 
of the image of Budh, and separated from it by a 
thin partition, is placed another idol, its back being 
against this partition, and its face looking toward 
the temples within. This figure holds in its hand a 
short stick of wood, with which to beat the evil 
spirits. 

Passing through this building you enter a broad 
stone-paved, open court. As the original site was 
uneven, the ground has been leveled by forming ter- 
races. In the center is an artificial reservoir for 
water, spanned by a stone bridge. Along the two 
sides of the court are covered passages, by which, 
ascending three short flights of broad stone steps, 
you go up to the second temple. 

This building is about sixty feet deep by one hund- 



112 EELIGIONS : KATIONALISM AND BUDHISM. 

red feet wide. It is devoted to the worship of the 
" Three Precious Budhs." Here the priests as- 
semble, morning and evening, for worship. Against 
a high gilded screen, near the rear of the build- 
ing, are placed the three idols. They are seated 
on gilded pedestals five feet in height. Their size 
corresponds to those we have already described. 
Their countenance, however, is very mild, and a 
kind of diadem is placed on the head of each one. 
These figures represent the past, present, and future 
incarnations of Budh. The one in the middle is 
the present incarnation; on its right is the past,' and 
on its left is the coming or future incarnation. In 
front of the idols is a large altar, with beautiful 
vases filled with flowers, and censers with incense 
ever burning. Low stools, with mats, are ranged 
over the tile floor for the kneeling worshipers. Tas- 
sels and long bands of silk are suspended from the 
roof. On each side are placed nine images, repre- 
senting the original disciples of Budh. The front of 
the temple is occupied with large doors, the upper 
half of which is composed of a kind of tortoise-shell, 
through which a dull light is admitted. 

The third temple is situated on another terrace, 
about sixty feet behind the second. You ascend to 
it by two flights of stone steps. The space between 
the buildings is paved with stone, and there are two 
artificial ground plats in the center where flowers are 
cultivated. In this third temple are several images 
of the " Goddess of Mercy." One, a rather large 
figure, is placed in the center of the group. On each 
side is one of smaller size, in a wooden case. The 



TEMPLE WOESHIP. 113 

one on. the left, made of porcelain, is thought to be 
very precious, and receives special attention. In 
times of drought or famine prayers are addressed to 
it. During times of long drought this image is 
carried along the public streets of Fuhchau, and 
worship is paid to it by all, with the expectation of 
procuring rain. The size of this building corresponds 
to that of the last one described. Large cases of 
books stand along the sides. It is only at certain 
times the priests worship here ; as when any one 
wishes to prefer a petition, or some public emergency 
arises. 

The regular worship is held in the second temple. 
They meet twice a day for this purpose, at about four 
in the morning and at the same hour in the afternoon. 
They repeat prayers, of whose meaning not one in ten 
of the priests themselves has the slightest conception ; 
sometimes standing, then kneeling, and finally march- 
ing, single file, around every row of stools in the 
temple. Their chanting is accompanied by the jing- 
ling of a small bell, and the dull sound produced by 
striking with a mallet a queer-looking piece of wood, 
which has been made hollow by abstracting the in- 
side material in a very skillful manner. When wor- 
shiping, the abbot stands directly in front of the 
idols, and the priests are ranged in rows on each 
side. 

We have now noticed at considerable length the 
principal buildings. On each side of these are other 
edifices. Some are small temples, where a private 
enterprise seems to be carried on by priests in the 
way of sight-seeing and fortune-telling. In one we 



114 RELIGIONS: RATIONALISM AND BUDHISM. 

were shown one of BudKs teeth. There, sure enough, 
it is, confined in a strong box, with iron bars in front, 
through which the faithful and the heretic alike view 
the sacred relic. I was amused with this sight. The 
Chinese are a matter-of-fact people, and always like to 
receive full value for their money. The priests have 
fully met their wishes in this respect ; for while for 
the sight they abstract a few cash from the China- 
man's pocket, they compensate him by showing an 
enormous tooth. I should think this molar might 
better have suited the jaw of a mastodon than of 
Budh. It is about eight. inches long, with propor- 
tionate size. 

There is also a library containing a large collection 
of Budhistic books. I had made arrangements for 
examining it, but the sudden illness of one of our 
party hastened our return, and thus defeated my 
plans in this respect. 

"Do you wish to see the recluse?" asked the 
priests, as they pointed toward the apartment where 
the man was confined. The recluse is a man perhaps 
thirty years of age, and sits in a small room lighted 
from the roof. There is a small hole in the wall, 
through which, by removing the cover, visitors look 
to see him. He has been shut up in this cell for per- 
haps two years, and expects to remain one or two 
years longer. Theoretically he sees no one, con- 
verses with no one, and thinks only of Budh and the 
future state. I had supposed he was a priest, but 
was told he was not. " Why, then," I inquired, " is 
he here ?" The story is that, from great honor and 
affluence, his family had been reduced to the most 



THE EECLUSE. 115 

distressing poverty; and now, forsaking all earthly 
things, he had sought refuge here. 

"But how does he employ himself? has he no 
books to read ?" 

" O yes," they replied, " he reads the doctrines of 
Budh." 

" To what," I asked, " does he aspire ?" 
" Absorption into Budh," was the reply 
And this, I thought, is Budhism. Look on this 
man! Disease has not weakened his system; God 
has not cursed him ; around him is a world of suffer- 
ing, calling loudly for help ; and yet, in the full vigor 
of manhood, he betrays his high trust, flies from 
those who look imploringly for assistance, and here 
buries himself in indolent comfort and seclusion. 
Pitiable man ! Again, this man has a family, possi- 
bly aged parents, looking to him for aid ; a wife and 
helpless children dependent for bread on his exertions. 
In the days of prosperity he shared their joys, but 
now, when the hour of stern trial comes, he, the hus- 
band, the son, the parent, abandons them to the cold 
charities of the world. I thought of other and higher 
duties : God has given him being, talents, influence, 
and a field for usefulness ; but, alas ! he knows noth- 
ing of all this. The light of the Gospel has never 
shone upon him. It was saddening to think of his 
going into eternity surrounded and stupified by such 
deplorable ignorance, and with a heavy heart I 
turned away. 

The attention of every visitor at the temple is 
arrested by the ceaseless tolling of the great bell. 
It is placed in a cupola, elevated perhaps fourteen 



116 RELIGIONS: RATIONALISM AND BUDHISM. 

feet from the ground, on the right of the first open 
court. The bell is large, and has a fine deep tone. 
It is fastened in a permanent frame. A piece of 
hard wood, about three feet long and two inches in 
diameter, is horizontally suspended by ropes, the one 
end of the stick being within a few inches of the rim 
of the bell. To the other end a rope is attached, 
which passes through the floor down to the ground. 
By pulling this rope the wood is drawn against the 
bell, and rebounds with the slackening of the rope, 
preparatory to another stroke. The tolling goes on 
almost incessantly, and frequently with intervals of 
only thirty seconds between the strokes. To my 
mind there was something very impressive in the 
deep, measured tones of this bell. I listened to the 
sounds as fainter and fainter they echoed around the 
rocks "far up the height," and then I thought of 
the many seasons of wild excitement and startling 
changes through which the world has passed, while 
here in this mountain solitude the flight of each hour, 
frequently the flight of each minute, has been noted 
by these sounds. 

Just below the temple buildings is a large artificial 
pond for fish. As none of them are ever caught or 
killed intentionally, they attain to great age. It is a 
favorite amusement with the Chinese visitors to throw 
cakes on the water, and watch the fish contending 
for the prizes. 

There is a fountain of most excellent water situ- 
ated in a deep glen about half a mile below the tem- 
ple. The water is conveyed for some distance along 
the side of the mountain in stone troughs, and finally 



THE FOUNTAIN. 117 

issues from the mouth of a stone dragon. There is a 
story told about this fountain. In former times the 
stream came leaping down a rocky glen near to the 
monastery ; but the sound of the water having greatly 
annoyed a student who frequently visited the place, 
he constructed an artificial channel, which conducted 
the water around the spur of the mountain to the 
glen where it now forms this delightful fountain. 
A small temple has been erected beside the fountain. 
Apartments for the priests who officiate in the tem- 
ple, and a light structure covering the water, are 
placed along side. Innumerable inscriptions have 
been engraved on the large rocks near the spring. 
A prospect house has been built on a spur east of the 
fountain, which affords a splendid view of the river 
winding far below, the plain of Fuhchau stud- 
ded with groves, and villages, and abrupt hills, 
the dark jagged mountains in the distance, while 
southward the eye looks out on the great wide 
ocean. 

A few words now as to the scenery around the 
monastery. Directly in front, south, the wooded 
ravine slopes down to the river ; on the right sweeps 
round a spur of the mountain, covered with pines 
and huge bowlders of granite ; a spur covered with 
the giant camphor-tree, the slender bamboo, the 
quivering aspen, and a dense undergrowth, runs 
down on the left ; while immediately behind shoots 
Up the high Kushan Peak. On the right, left, and 
rear the view is shut in by the peak and spurs just 
referred to ; but to the south, opening up through a 
vista of trees, the prospect stretches far and broadly 



118 religions: rationalism and budhism. 

away. The peak just behind the monastery presents 
a grand appearance. Its form is conical, the top 
attaining an elevation several hundred feet above the 
level of the monastery. The sides are destitute of trees, 
and dark, precipitous rocks, lined with white streaks, 
made by rain torrents, throw a somber shade over 
many a yawning chasm below. A growth of wild 
grass obtains in places a meager support from the thin 
soil formed by the disintegration of the granite rock. 
In the ravines which pass down from the summit the 
soil has been collected from the barren cliffs around, 
and many a family is cheered and nourished by the 
harvests gathered there. * 

Seen in the light of closing day, the aspect of the 
peak is singularly impressive. Around the temples 
where you stand the long shadows of evening are 
falling; the deep silence of the hour is unbroken, 
save by the solemn tolling of the bell, which, indeed, 
from its regularity, seems only to increase it; but 
on the broad bosom of the peak a clear, mellowing 
light is shining, and one can see the rustic guiding his 
plow along the dizzy heights. A thin carpet of grass, 
the grain waving in the ravines, impart a beautiful 
greenness and freshness to the scene. The air seems 
to wanton with the frowning cliffs ; not a sound 
strikes the ear; the shadows ascend the mountain 
still higher ; a brilliant glow, like a crown of glory, 
decks the top of the peak for a few minutes, then fades 
away, and the mountain, with vast yet graceful out- 
lines, lies darkly painted against the ruddy heavens. 

The cemetery is situated in a grove of pines, per- 
haps three fourths of a mile from the monastery, near 



THE CEMETEKY. 119 

the road leading to the city. It is on a declivity with 
a southern outlook. There is a stone platform about 
forty Teet square, raised perhaps nine feet from the 
ground. You mount to this terrace by a night of 
stone steps. Beneath this terrace is the final recepta- 
cle for the jars containing the ashes of the deceased 
priests. To this gloomy vault the entrance is effected 
by removing part of the wall on the right of the 
steps. This is done only at long intervals, when the 
large stone urn on the terrace has been filled with 
these relics. This stone urn stands near the center of 
the terrace, and is capable of containing the ashes of 
perhaps thirty priests. "When a priest dies, the body 
is burned and the ashes put into a jar, which, after 
being sealed, is placed in this large urn. Here the 
jars remain till the urn is full, when the vault below 
is opened and the jars placed in it. 

The site for the cemetery has been well chosen ; 
the scenery is suited to excite solemn thoughts ; and 
as I sat there in the shadow of those old pines, my 
mind was busy with saddening yet profitable reflec- 
tions. O how different is this from the cemeteries in 
a Christian land ! For these I heard no voice from 
heaven saying, " Write, Blessed are the dead who die 
in the Lord !" All, all is dark. " The sharp malady 
of life " is past ; but where the victory, the crown, 
the glory? Reader, to thee also must come the last 
mortal struggle. God grant that in that solemn hour 
the Saviour may be with thee ! 

I have now noticed the most prominent features of 
this celebrated place, as they presented themselves to 
my mind. An interesting thought occurred to me 



120 KELIGIONS: RATIONALISM AND BUDHISM. 

during one of my walks over the temple grounds. 
As I observed the healthiness of the location, its 
proximity to a great city, the high literary character 
of that city, and its relation to this mighty empire, it 
stood before my mind in the form of a delightful pos- 
sibility that upon the ruins of these heathen temples 
there shall rise a noble structure for the Christian 
education of ingenuous native youth ; that this lovely 
spot shall be a fountain for religion and learning, from 
which shall flow out over these lands holiness and 
knowledge ; and that the chimes of other bells shall 

" Ring in the valiant man and free, 
The larger heart, the kindlier hand ; 
Ring out the darkness of the land, 

Ring in the Christ that is to be." 



PUBLIC OPINION. 121 



CHAPTER VIII. 

CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. 

Public opinion throughout Christendom under- 
rates, we think, the intellectual capacity of the Chi- 
nese. What we have already written in the course 
of this work indicates for them no mean position, in- 
tellectually, in the great family of man. Instead of 
predicating stupidity of the Chinese because of cer- 
tain apparent incongruities and absurdities in their 
character, or because of the few unworthy represent- 
atives of the Chinese race who find their way to 
western countries, it would be more judicious to re- 
serve judgment on the subject till we obtained more 
full and accurate knowledge of their character. It is 
entirely probable that a more intimate acquaintance 
with them and the difficulties through which they 
had to force their way, would excite our cordial sym- 
pathy and admiration. It is certainly highly credit- 
able to them that as a nation they can point to a 
history and character such as are presented by their 
authentic records and by the patent facts of their 
civilization ; and if under all the disadvantages, and 
against the fearful odds with which hitherto they 
have struggled, they have been able to accomplish so 
much, what may we not expect from them when the 



122 CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. 

light of the Gospel shall shine upon them, and shall 
lead them forth into the joyous freedom of the sons 
of God. 

The Chinese mind is eminently quick, shrewd, and 
practical. It has an intuitive logic of rare vigor and 
certainty. Admit the premises in the argument of a 
Chinese, and his conclusion is generally inevitable. 
In their processes of ratiocination the defect is usually 
in the premises. Owing to their meager knowledge 
of many subjects they frequently assume things to 
be true which are not true, and hence the logical 
structure they rear on such a basis topples and 
falls the moment you point out the error. As busi- 
ness men they are remarkably energetic, efficient, and 
adroit. The foreign merchant, whether European or 
American, who goes to China for business purposes, 
finds it necessary to avail himself of all the helps and 
safeguards which his own judgment or the principles 
of trade suggest in order to protect himself ; and it not 
infrequently happens that after all his precautionary 
efforts he is overreached by his unscrupulous com- 
petitor. The yankee must rise early in the morning 
and keep wide awake all day if he expects to get to 
windward of a Chinaman before nightfall. 

The permanence of Chinese institutions is worthy 
of notice in this connection. It is a significant and 
singular fact that, from the earliest period of their 
authentic history to the present time, the Chinese 
have preserved intact and inviolate every important 
feature and principle of their government and civili- 
zation. The successive irruptions of northern barba- 
rians have neither abrogated nor essentially modified 



FOREIGN RELIGIONS. 123 

Chinese institutions. The conquering races who 
have overrun those fertile plains have stood abashed 
in the presence of a superior civilization ; and after 
subduing the empire, they have invariably adopted 
its government, laws, civilization, and language. 
Similar results have followed all efforts to introduce 
foreign religions into China. Budhism, Judaism, 
Nestorianism, and Mohammedanism have all lost 
much of their peculiar spirit, and many of their ex- 
ternal features, when brought into contact with 
Chinese mind, succumbing apparently to its rigid 
immobility and inherent force. Romanism has won 
its way in China by subterfuges and compromises of 
the most questionable character, and even Jesuitical 
casuistry and chicanery are almost overmatched in 
the struggle. Protestant Christianity has now en- 
tered the field, and a great cloud of witnesses watch 
the issue of its conflict with this, the oldest form of 
heathenism the world has ever seen. 

Paradoxical though it may seem to some of our 
readers, we proceed to state that the Chinese have 
long been a colonizing people. They have colonized 
along the sea-board of Asia, from the Sea of Ochotsk 
to the Bay of Bengal. The Japanese are an offshoot 
from China. The islands off the coast of China, and 
many of those in the East Indian Archipelago, have 
been colonized by the Chinese ; and in nearly every 
kingdom of eastern peninsular Asia they are found 
in large and influential communities. It is a notice- 
able fact that whenever the Chinese colonize among 
a heathen people, their superior civilization gives 
them at once a decided advantage over the native 



124: CHAEACTEE OF THE CHINESE. 

population. By their intelligence, industry, and 
capacity for business they almost monopolize all the 
important and highly remunerative departments of 
labor ; commerce passes into their hands, and they 
become the chief factors, the leading spirits in the 
native communities where they live. A year or two 
since a missionary in the Micronesian Islands was 
walking along the beach of one of the islands and 
found there a shipwrecked mariner, whose dress was 
strange to him, and with whose language he was 
utterly unacquainted. Through the natives of the 
island he ascertained that the stranger was a Japan- 
ese, whose vessel having been injured by a storm and 
rendered unmanageable, was drifted southward by 
the great oceanic current, until some of its fragments, 
bearing the sailor referred to, were stranded on the 
shore of the island. Following up the train of 
thought suggested by this incident, the missionary 
ascertained from the natives of the Micronesian 
Islands that similar incidents were of not infrequent 
occurrence, that every few years one or more of the 
people from those northern latitudes would be drifted 
on their shores ; " and indeed," said they to the mis- 
sionary, "our ancestors came from that northern 
region." The incident is certainly most interesting 
and suggestive ; possibly it throws light on the 
question as to the origin of the tribes found in the 
islands of the South Seas. Any one familiar with 
the features of the North American Indian, who will 
look into the face of a Chinese, cannot fail to observe 
a striking resemblance between them. "Whence 
came our North American Indians ? They neither 



EMIGRATION TO CALIFORNIA. 125 

dropped from the clouds, nor sprang, like the oaks, 
from the earth. Is it not, at least, plausible that they 
came from the continent of Asia, the old homestead 
of the human race, by the way of Behring's Strait ? 
If this supposition should prove to be correct, we 
must conclude that China furnished the pioneers who 
first looked on the magnificent scenery of the west- 
ern continent. 

"Within the last few years the Chinese have mi- 
grated in large numbers to Australia, Havana, the 
western coast of South America, and California. 
We have a vivid recollection of the excitement 
along the southern sea-board of China produced by 
the intelligence from the California gold-diggings. 
Thousands of the Chinese at once decided to seek 
their fortunes in the land of gold. They chartered 
foreign vessels to transport them, but in a short time 
the entire fleet of available vessels was taken up, and 
thousands of eager emigrants were left waiting for a 
passage. Unable to charter ships as rapidly as they 
desired, the Chinese proceeded to buy up the old 
hulks which were used by foreigners as offices or 
stores, and after fitting them up with masts, rigging, 
and sails, they employed a foreign commander and 
crew, and then, trusting themselves to these unsea- 
worthy crafts, sailed away for California. 

This brief sketch of Chinese character would be 
imperfect without a reference to some of its defects. 
The vices of the Chinese are those peculiar to all 
Orientalists who, deficient in physical strength, en- 
deavor to accomplish their ends by cunning, thus 
substituting duplicity for force. The art of deceiving, 



126 CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. 

is well-nigh, universally studied and practiced in 
China. Deception pervades all classes of society and 
characterizes every department of business. The 
popular sentiment, indeed, regards it as an accom- 
plishment rather than as a vice. The man who 
gains his end by deception is applauded for his sa- 
gacity and esteemed a person of ability; while he 
who would lose it by adhering to downright hon- 
esty is certain to be ridiculed as a dolt, destitute 
alike of native talent and business tact. We might 
almost designate cheating as the rule of business in 
China. It is only when his own interest impera- 
tively demands honesty that you can expect a Chi- 
nese to act with fairness in a business transaction. 
When urged to embrace the Gospel, the first objec- 
tion with business men invariably is : " Cheating is 
essential to success in trade ; I really cannot succeed 
without it. Were I to confine myself to the truth I 
should starve." Lying seems to be universal. Ev- 
erybody lies; parents to children and children to 
parents ; masters to servants and servants to masters ; 
sellers to buyers and buyers to sellers; subjects to 
government and government to subjects. A man's 
word is never taken in business affairs; no trades- 
man will consider any arrangement or contract bind- 
ing unless what is called " bargain money" has been 
tendered and accepted; and no agreement is con- 
sidered valid until it is written out and signed by the 
parties in the presence of witnesses. In the adminis- 
tration of government you meet with the most unscru- 
pulous mendacity. The people lie to the constable, 
the constable to the squire, the squire to the sheriff, 



ENGLISH CONSUL. 127 

the sheriff to the governor, the governor to the privy 
council, and the privy council to the emperor. We 
might truthfully designate the entire system of gov- 
ernment administration in China one stupendous lie. 
This rule of lying works both ways. If a stream of 
lies passes through the arteries of the political sys- 
tem to the emperor, at least an equal veinous supply 
of the same commodity is thrown out from the em- 
peror and his advisers to permeate the entire body 
politic. 

In the early days of foreign residence at Fuhchau, 
the Chinese authorities compelled the English con- 
sul to live in most uncomfortable quarters in a very 
ineligible situation. The consul protested against 
the arrangement as inconvenient, oppressive, and 
absolutely outrageous, but the Chinese authorities 
were incorrigible. To all his remonstrances and 
appeals they invariably replied: "You must remain 
where you are; we cannot possibly find a better 
place for you." The consul was an energetic man, 
and not easily turned aside from his purpose, so he 
began to explore the city to find a more suitable 
position for his residence. Within the city walls 
there is a beautiful hill called Ushih-shan, and as 
the consul passed over it one day in the course of his 
rambles, he found there some half-occupied temple 
buildings, and he determined, if possible, to procure 
one of them for his accommodation. He accordingly 
intimated his wishes to the authorities; but they 
replied that it was utterly out of the question for him 
to live within the city walls, that the hill where he 
proposed to live could never be used for private resi- 



128 CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. 

dences, and they quoted statutes and historical pre- 
cedents innumerable to fortify their position, closing 
the argument with the remark: "The people are 
unwilling, and therefore it must not be." All 
negotiations having failed, and finding his health suf- 
fering in the miserable quarters to which he was con- 
fined, the consul, after much deliberation, finally 
concluded to take the matter into his own hands. 
Summoning a posse of marines from an English man- 
of-war then lying in the river near Fuhchau, he 
made preparations for taking possession of one of the 
temple-buildings on Ushih-shan. The morning of 
the eventful day at length dawned upon him, and, 
after dispatching his goods, he mounted his sedan 
and, escorted by the marines, started for the city. 
The cavalcade moved quickly along the street, the 
people opening a passage for it, and then staring with 
a kind of bewildered astonishment as it passed. 
Finally they entered the south gate of the city, and 
began to approach the hill. " Kow comes the tug of 
war," thought the consul as, turning into a broad 
gateway, he found himself within the limits of the 
temple grounds. Judge of his surprise and embar- 
rassment when, looking up through the trees, he saw the 
temple occupied by the Chinese officials, heard shrill 
voices giving out loud orders in rapid succession, and 
observed soldiers and lictors moving round the build- 
ing in evident excitement. "What was to be done? 
To retreat would be utter disgrace ; to go forward 
might result in bloodshed. Controlled more by ex- 
citement than by reason, he determined to go on, 
and dismounting from his sedan, he began to ascend 



UNEXPECTED DENOUEMENT. 129 

the steps toward the temple. His approach seemed 
to increase the stir within and around the temple. 
Lictors in naming jackets were rushing hither and 
thither, mandarins in splendid robes were bustling 
about, venting vollies of rapid orders to which no 
one seemed to give attention, and to increase the 
uproar, just as the consul came in full view of the 
main entrance to the building vollies of rattling fire- 
crackers were discharged, and a bevy of gongs set up 
a most unearthly clanging and banging until it 
seemed as though pandemonium itself had broken 
loose. Utterly confounded by the scene, the consul 
still advanced, his vision filled with anything but 
agreeable images, when just as he entered the build- 
ing a company of brilliantly costumed officials sallied 
forth from a side chamber, and, with indescribable 
bowings and scrapings, proceeded to welcome him to 
his new residence. This unexpected denouement was 
well-nigh fatal to the gravity of our hero, but, reso- 
lutely maintaining his dignity, he proceeded to recip- 
rocate their compliments. Passing through an open 
court, they ushered him into the main hall of the 
temple, where, to his utter astonishment, he beheld a 
splendid entertainment spread out, and official digni- 
taries flittiug about apparently anxious to do him 
honor. The transition was so sudden that for a time 
it seemed more like a dream than reality ; but, grad- 
ually regaining his self-possession, he was proceeding 
to congratulate himself on the success of his dashing- 
policy when one of the mandarins interrupted the 
sweet flow of his thoughts with, " What a splendid 
place this is ! Hew far superior to the quarters you 

9 



130 CHAKACTER OF THE CHINESE. 

left ! and, by the way, why in the world did you stay 
so long in that inconvenient and excessively disagree- 
able place?" 

As another illustration of this trait in Chinese 
character, the following narrative, which I wrote at 
the time the incident occurred, is here introduced. 
The sketch was written in Fuhchau. 

I was surprised and grieved, a few days' since, to 
learn that a young man who was a candidate for bap- 
tism in our mission had suddenly died of cholera. His 
death occurred some weeks since, but I did not hear 
of it at the time. This young man had been coming 
to us for four years, and during most of the time was 
a candidate for baptism. His education was respect- 
able, and his character fair, in the estimation of the 
Chinese. There was, however, one serious defect in 
him. Whether it was, as I sometimes inclined to be- 
lieve, a constitutional defect, or whether it was that 
his ingenuousness disclosed frankly what other Chi- 
nese seek to conceal from our notice, I never could 
fully satisfy myself; but this feature in his character 
painfully impressed all the missionaries who became 
acquainted with him. He seemed to be almost totally 
deficient in what may be termed conscientiousness. 
He would lie, and that, too, when it was evidently 
from constitutional bias, or vicious habit, rather than 
from any definite purpose or wish to deceive. I 
labored with him long and, I think, faithfully to aid 
him in remedying the evil, and I have good reason to 
"believe that he sincerely desired reformation. Dur- 
ing the past year he very frequently attended our in- 
quiry meeting, and I thought he was gradually re- 



HABIT OF LYING. 131 

ceiving light and power from on high. He usually 
spoke in these meetings, and often with an earnest 
frankness that stirred our sympathies. The last time 
he was present at our inquiry meeting I was deeply 
impressed by the simplicity of his experience and the 
unusual solemnity of his manner. I felt then that he 
was not far from the kingdom of God. So strong 
was this impression on my mind that I spoke of it to 
the other members of our mission. The following 
Sunday I looked for him in the public congregation, 
but his seat was vacant. I was disappointed and 
sad, fearing I had been deceived. I spoke of him to 
our native members, and they stated that, as he lived 
some three miles from the church, he might have been 
detained by the heat of the weather or by the sickness 
of his aged mother, who was in feeble health. Day 
after day passed withmit any tidings from him, and I 
began to fear he had become discouraged in his efforts 
to become a Christian. One of the native brethren 
went to his house, and, to our sorrow, ascertained 
that he had died some three weeks before. His mother 
gave the particulars of his death, and I here put them 
on record. 

The last appearance of the young man at our 
inquiry meeting was on Friday afternoon. He 
reached home that evening about dark, and was 
taken sick during the night. He sank rapidly, but 
retained his consciousness. Through Saturday and 
Saturday night he lay in a very critical state. On 
Sunday morning he seemed to revive somewhat, and 
said to his mother : " To-day is the Sabbath ; how 
I should like to go to worship in the Ching Sing 



132 CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. 

Tong" (Church of the True God.) He spoke of his 
wish and purpose to be a Christian, and then, as he 
felt his end approaching, he said to his mother : " If 
I die, send word at once to the missionaries." And 
thus, on that beautiful Sabbath morning, with his 
thoughts fixed on the blessed Saviour and his heart 
longing for the courts of the Lord's house, this young 
man passed away. It is probable, from what I 
learned as to the time of his death, that just as we 
were engaged in the opening exercises of public 
worship in the church he was passing — whither, O 
whither? Thou knowest, O Saviour! Thy name 
was upon his lips as he went down into the cold 
waters, and before his vision there passed "the Lord's 
house" and "the worshiping congregation" as the 
last of earth. What of heaven % Did any light from 
that glorious land shine on his mind when the dark- 
ness of the grave was thickening around him ? Did 
any scenes of beauty arise before him? Did any 
music from the worship around the throne fall upon 
his ear? Thou knowest, O Saviour !* this is enough. 
In eternity it may be found that the published statis- 
tics of the results of missionary labor indicate only 
a small fraction of the aggregate amount of good 
accomplished. 

Passing one day over the great bridge at Fuh- 
chau, I stopped at one of the stalls which then lined 
one side of the bridge, to purchase a few articles. To 
my surprise the prices named by the shopman were 
evidently about what a native would pay for the 
same articles. The Chinese who stood looking on, 
and the shopmen in the adjacent stalls, seemed utterly 



CHEATING FOEEIGNERS. 133 

confounded by this public deviation from the system 
of cheating foreigners, which forms so prominent a 
feature of Chinese mercantile tactics. Presently an 
excited neighbor of the same craft thrust his head 
into the stall and indignantly called out to the man 
with whom I was dealing : 

" What makes you sell so cheap ? "Why don't you 
cheat the foreigner ?" 

With an expression of countenance at once doleful 
and ludicrous, the crest-fallen shopman turned to the 
crowd and whined out : 

" There is nothing to be gained by lying to this 
foreigner ; he talks our own language." 

While on this topic I may remark that the Chinese 
are disposed to consider it something wonderful that 
foreigners are able to acquire the correct and fluent 
use of their language. After preaching on one occa- 
sion at one of our chapels, a company of loquacious 
Chinese remained to converse with me, and very soon 
the inquiry was started : 

" How is it that while we, the Chinese, cannot 
learn to speak foreign languages, foreigners are able 
to acquire ours?" 

The question called forth an animated discussion, 
and a number of theories were propounded to account 
for and explain the phenomenon. At length an 
elderly gentleman, of astonishing volubility, volun- 
teered an explanation which was greeted by the 
crowd as entirely satisfactory. " The truth is," said 
the orator, " the tongue of these foreigners resembles 
the tongue of a parrot or mocking-bird ; it has a kind 
of pivotic position in the mouth, and hence both ends 



134 CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. 

are available in talking. Besides," he continued, 
" there is a certain ligatnre under the tongue which 
is always cut by foreigners in infancy, thus increasing 
the flexibility of the organ to an astonishing degree." 

It seemed downright cruelty to mar the effect of 
this speech on the minds of the delighted auditory, 
but, under the circumstances, I felt constrained to 
state that though the theory just propounded might 
be ingenious and plausible, it was unfortunately 
opposed by all the facts in the case. Notwithstand- 
ing this disclaimer, the crowd were evidently determ- 
ined to stand by their orator, thinking perhaps 
with the adroit Frenchman, that if the facts were 
opposed to the theory, it was so much the worse for 
the facts. 

Thieving is another characteristic propensity of the 
Chinese, and the thieves of China are probably as 
expert and dexterous as any in the world. The 
thieves are divided into separate and distinct gangs, 
each*known by the kind of instruments employed in 
its operations, so that wherever a theft has been com- 
mitted, an examination of the modus operandi will 
show which gang has done the deed. In its detective 
police arrangements the government acts on the 
principle, "Send a thief to catch a thief;" and hence 
in many of the government offices you find the offi- 
cial "thief-catcher," a person of energy and cunning, 
who, for a material consideration, has consented to stop 
stealing on his own account, and henceforth employs 
his talents in ferreting out and arresting thieves on 
behalf of the government. A foreign ship captain 
was once dining at the table of a foreign merchant in 



STEALING THE SHEET. 135 

China, when the conversation turned to this subject, 
and a number of illustrative anecdotes were recited 
by members of the company. Among the incidents 
narrated was one in which it happened that the burg- 
lar had entered the room where the occupant was 
sleeping, and had stolen the laid off clothing of the 
sleeper without disturbing his slumbers. The cap- 
tain received this story with staunch incredulity, and 
declared with emphasis that he defied any person to 
enter a room where he was sleeping without awak- 
ing him. 

" Why," said the gentleman at whose table he was 
dining, " there is a Chinese thief in this city who can 
steal the sheet on which you are sleeping without 
awaking you." 

"Impossible!" cried the indignant captain; and 
certainly the assertion did seem to savor strongly of 
exaggeration. The merchant, however, was in earn- 
est about the matter, and it was finally agreed that 
the captain should spend a few nights in a designated 
room of the merchant's house, just to test the matter. 
In accordance with the arrangement, the thief was 
informed of the circumstances of the case, and was 
assured that if caught on the premises during the 
time specified no harm should come to him. The 
captain occupied the room one or two nights, and 
nothing transpired to disturb his repose. The suc- 
ceeding night, about two hours past midnight, the 
thief approached the window of the room in which 
the captain slept, and finding all quiet within, cau- 
tiously made his entrance. It was a hot summer 
night, and the sleeper, in his night-clothes, lay about 



136 CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. 

the middle of the bed, having his person only par- 
tially covered by a thin counterpane. Softly ap- 
proaching the bedside, the thief proceeded to remove 
the counterpane, and then addressing himself to the 
sheet on which the nnconscions sleeper was lying, he 
began in the gentlest manner to fold it up in narrow 
plies, lengthwise, advancing slowly toward his person. 
In a few minutes the last fold of the sheet came close 
up against the form of the sleeper. And now came 
the most difficult part of the performance. It was 
comparatively easy to fold up that part of the sheet 
not in immediate contact with the captain's person; 
but how is it possible to get the sheet from under him 
without disturbing his repose? Taking a straw in 
his hand, the thief passed round to the other side of 
the bed, and softly uncovering the sleeper's side, pro- 
ceeded gently to tickle him with the straw. Instantly 
the sleeper begins to squirm and shrink, and after a 
few seconds rolls heavily over, away from the perse- 
cuting straw, and quite off the coveted sheet, thus 
leaving the prize to be gathered up and carried off in 
triumph by the thief. Next morning, when the cap- 
tain awoke from his refreshing sleep, to his utter 
surprise and amazement, behold ! the sheet was 
gone! when, and whither, he had not the slightest 
conception. 

Licentiousness is another prominent trait in the 
character of the Chinese. Its corrupting and debas- 
ing influences pervade all classes of society. Forms 
of this vice which in other lands skulk in dark places, 
or appear only in the midnight orgies of the baccha- 
nalian revelers, in China blanch not at the light of 



OPIUM SMOKING. 137 

noonday; are pictured, in shop fronts and in other 
modes, to the eyes of the thousands who throng the 
streets ; or flaunting their gaudy blandishments, the 
living embodiments of this lust find ready access to 
the precincts of the family, the forum, and the temple. 
Saddening evidences of the almost universal preva- 
lence of this vice are everywhere apparent among the 
Chinese, and the Christian prays and longs for the 
glorious day when a pure morality and a pure lan- 
guage shall supplant the vices which now fester in 
Chinese society. 

Opium smoking in China is a vice whose magni- 
tude and baneful effects can scarcely be exaggerated. 
Facts innumerable, and patent to every observer, 
stamp it one of the most pernicious and destructive 
vices of human society. Dr. Smith, of Penang, who 
had every opportunity for a thorough examination of 
the subject, says : " The baneful effects of this habit 
on the human constitution are particularly displayed 
by stupor, forgetfulness, general deterioration of all 
the mental faculties, emaciation, debility, sallow com- 
plexion, lividness of the lips and eyelids, languor, and 
lack-luster of eye, and appetite either destroyed or 
depraved." A Chinese writer says : " It exhausts the 
animal spirits, impedes the regular performance of 
business, wastes the flesh and blood, dissipates every 
kind of property, renders the person ill-favored, pro- 
motes obscenity, discloses secrets, violates the laws, 
attacks the vitals, and destroys life." Dr. Williams, 
referring to the progress of the habit, says: "The 
thirst and burning sensation in the throat which the 
wretched sufferer feels, only to be removed by a repe- 



138 CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. 

tition of the dose, proves one of the strongest links in 
the chain which drags him to his ruin. At this stage 
of the habit his case is almost hopeless. If the pipe 
be delayed too long, vertigo, complete prostration, 
and discharge of water from the eyes ensue ; if en- 
tirely withheld, coldness and aching pains are felt 
over the body, an obstinate diarrhea supervenes, and 
death closes the scene. The disastrous effects of the 
drug upon the constitution seem to be somewhat 
delayed or modified by the quantity of nourishing 
food the person can procure ; and consequently it is 
among the poor, who can least afford the pipe, and 
still less the injury done to their energies, that the 
destruction of life is the greatest. The evils suffered 
and crimes committed by the desperate victims of the 
opium pipe are dreadful and multiplied. Theft, 
arson, murder, and suicide are perpetrated in order to 
obtain it or escape its effects. Some try to break off 
the fatal habit by taking a tincture of the opium 
dirt, gradually diminishing its strength until it is 
left off entirely ; others mix opium with tobacco, and 
smoke the compound in a less and less proportion, 
until tobacco alone remains. The general belief is 
that the vice can be overcome without fatal results, if 
the person firmly resolve to forsake it, and keep away 
from sight and smell of the pipe, laboring as much as 
his strength will allow in the open air, until he recov- 
ers his spirits, and no longer feels a longing for it. 
Few, very few, however, ever emancipate themselves 
from the tyrannous habit which enslaves them. They 
are able to resist its insidious effects until the habit 
has become strong, and the resolution to break it off 



OPIUM SMOKING. 139 

is generally delayed until their chains are forged, and 
deliverance felt to be hopeless. The resolution in 
their case has, alas, none of the awful motives to en- 
force its observance which a knowledge of the Bible 
would give it. The heathen dieth in his ignorance ! 
" Opium is often employed to commit suicide by 
swallowing it in spite when displeased with others, 
or to escape from death, oppression, or other evils. 
The missionary physicians are often called upon to 
rescue persons who have taken a dose and been found 
before life is gone, and the number of these applica- 
tions painfully show how lightly the Chinese esteem 
life. A comparison is sometimes drawn between the 
opium-smoker and drunkard, and the former averred 
to be less injured by the habit ; but the balance is 
struck between two terrible evils, both of which end 
in the loss of health, property, mind, influence, and 
life. Opium imparts no benefit to the smoker, im- 
pairs his bodily vigor, beclouds his mind, and unfits 
him for his station in society ; he is miserable with- 
out it, and at last dies by what he lives upon. The 
manufacture is beyond the country, so that every 
cent paid for the drug is carried abroad, and misery 
in every shape of poverty, disease, and dementation 
left in its stead, attended with mere transitory pleas- 
ure while the pipe is in the mouth. Fully one hund- 
red millions of dollars have oozed out of China within 
the last fifty years for this article alone, and its pro- 
ductive capital decreased fully twice that sum." 



140 CITY OF FUHCHAU. 



CHAPTER IX. 

CITY OF FUHCHAU. 

The city of Fuhchau is the center of the missions 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church in China. It is 
the capital of the Fuh-kien province, belongs to the 
first class of Chinese cities, and contains a population 
of about six hundred thousand. It has long been a 
celebrated city among the Chinese, and its beautiful 
scenery has often inspired the genius of native poets, 
one of whom seeks to express his admiration in 
highly wrought hyperbole, beginning 

" Ten thousand miles around Fuhchau 
Spread out the terraced hills." 

The city has been considered one of the strong 
military posts of the empire; and its inhabitants 
have always enjoyed a high reputation for literary 
attainments and commercial activity. In the early 
history of foreign intercourse with China attention 
was directed to Fuhchau as an important commer- 
cial, entrepot. In 1668 an agent of the English 
East India Company reported to the Court of Direc- 
tors : " Hokchue (the local pronunciation for Fuh- 
chau) will be a place of great resort, affording all 
China commodities, as tutanag, silk, raw and wrought, 



SITUATION. 143 

gold, China-root, tea, etc. ; for which must be carried 
broadcloth, lead, amber, pepper, coral, sandal-wood, 
red-wood, incense, cacha, [cassia,] putchuk, etc. In 
1681 the Company ordered their establishments at 
Formosa and Amoy to be withdrawn, with a view to 
opening trade at Canton and Fuhchau." These 
early efforts were unsuccessful, and it was not till 
1853 that foreign commerce was fully opened at 
Fuhchau. 

The city is situated in the northern portion of an 
amphitheater about twenty miles in diameter, formed 
by the circling ranges of high mountains. The sur- 
face of this amphitheater is diversified by wooded 
knolls and occasional hills of considerable altitude, 
some of which the husbandman has cultivated to the 
summit, while others present to the eye immense 
masses of granite, relieved by intervening patches of 
sparse vegetation. The Min River enters the amphi- 
theater from the northwest, through a narrow mount- 
ain pass, and flows, with a winding stream, out to 
the sea through a somewhat similar pass in the 
southeast. On the banks of this picturesque stream 
stands the city of Fuhchau ; the portion within the 
walls and the greater part of the suburbs occupying 
and stretching away from the north bank, while the 
south bank is covered with a straggling suburb ex- 
tending some three miles nearly parallel to the river. 
The general aspect of the city is pleasing. The 
monotony of dark roofs and dingy walls is relieved 
by a few picturesque hills and a plentiful supply of 
banians, whose perennial greenness imparts an air of 
freshness and beauty to the scene. 



144: CITY OF FUHCHAU. 

Fuhchau furnishes a fair specimen of Chinese 
provincial cities. The city proper is surrounded 
by a substantial wall, built compactly of brick, 
and resting on a foundation of granite. The wall 
is about twenty feet high and ten feet thick, sur- 
mounted by a parapet five feet high with bastions 
at regular intervals. The gateways are of great size 
and strength, and so constructed that a small force 
in charge of them could hold at bay almost any num- 
ber of attacking troops. The public buildings com- 
prise government offices, temples, and colleges, or 
halls for the literary examinations. The government 
offices comprise those of the viceroy, Tartar-general, 
governor, treasurer, judge, commissioners of rice and 
salt, prefect, district magistrates, etc. These build- 
ings are one story high, constructed of wood with 
the aid of lath and plaster, cover an immense area, 
and are inclosed by a high fire-proof wall. The open 
courts, which form prominent features of these vast 
compounds, are ornamented with flowers and shrub- 
bery and shaded with fine old trees. The buildings 
are constructed of very perishable materials; the 
workmanship is usually clumsy and tawdry, while, 
owing to the plan of the edifice, the rooms are 
almost invariably deficient in light, ventilation, and 
comfort. 

Temples abound both within and without the wall 
of the city. Of those within the city wall the 
more prominent are the Confucian temple, the impe- 
rial temple, the Tai-seng temple, the temple of 
the city king, and the temples crowning the two hills 
called Ushih-shan and U-shcm. The Confucian tern- 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 145 

pie was built about eight years ago, and is a fine- 
looking edifice ; most of the other temples are dirty, 
gloomy, and dilapidated structures. Outside -the 
city wall there is what foreigners designate the 
" Mngpo Temple." It stands in the suburb, on the 
south side of the river, not far from the foreign resi- 
dences, and is really a handsome edifice. It is ded- 
icated to the goddess of seamen, and is more largely 
patronized than any other temple in the city. Two 
tall pagodas, each having nine stories, stand just 
within the south gate of the city, and are connected 
with two Budhist temples. One of them is called 
the "White Pagoda," and the other the "Black 
Stone Pagoda." They are both old, and the former 
is so much injured that no person is allowed to 
ascend it. 

The Provincial College, or Literary Examination 
Hall, situated in the northern part of the city proper, 
is an immense open compound, filled with rows of 
low compartments for domiciling the students during 
the examinations, and is surrounded by a high and 
thick wall. An avenue about twelve feet wide runs 
nearly north and south through the center of the 
compound, extending from the main and only en- 
trance to the opposite side, where are the apartments 
fitted up for the examining committees and official 
visitors. At right angles to this central avenue, on 
each side, branch off rows of compartments or cells 
in which the students are incarcerated during the 
examinations. These rows of cells are separated from 
each other by brick walls about ten feet high, with 
a space about two feet wide between the wall and 
10 



146 CITY OF FUHCHAU. 

the fronts of the cells to furnish the means of com- 
munication with the central avenue. These cells 
are about two and a half feet deep, four feet wide, 
and eight feet high, and are covered with a shed- 
roof to protect the occupant from the weather ; but 
as the entire front of each cell is left open, the poor 
students must suffer terribly from the sun and rain ; 
and it is not surprising that at every examination 
some of the candidates die from exposure and excite- 
ment. It is estimated that from eight to ten thou- 
sand students can be accommodated at one time in 
this compound or college. The other examination 
halls are somewhat similar to the one we have just 
described, though much smaller and less substantially 
built. 

The city is laid out with some degree of regularity, 
the streets in many cases running parallel to each 
other, or crossing each other at right angles. The 
principal street, called JVanlca, that is, South-street, 
divides the city into two nearly equal portions, and 
runs from the south gate almost to the north gate of * 
the city. This is a well-paved and (for China) wide 
street, and being the great business thoroughfare of 
the city, where all the best stores are located, it pre- 
sents a fine appearance. The western portion of the 
city is largely taken up with the residences of retired 
officers, or other persons of wealth and influence. 
Some of these mansions are fitted up in a style that 
indicates considerable refinement of taste and artistic 
skill. A portion of the eastern division of the city, 
comprising about one-eighth of the area within the 
city wall, is the Tartar quarter, and is occupied by 



TARTARS, NANTAI. 147 

the Tartar garrison of the city. These Tartars are 
soldiers in the pay of the government, and are not 
allowed to engage in trade or intermarry with the 
Chinese. In general they lead an idle, listless life, 
and are sadly addicted to opium-smoking and other 
vices, fully confirming the truth of the old adage that 
" an idle man's brain is the devil's workshop." The 
execution ground is just outside the north gate, and 
the military parade ground immediately outside the 
south gate of the city. 

The extra-mural population is almost equal to that 
within the city wall, and comprises large suburbs 
outside the principal gates of the city. Of these 
suburbs, the largest and most important one extends 
from the south gate to the river, and is called Wantai, 
or southern suburb. Its population stretches some 
three miles from the south gate to the river, covers 
most densely a small island in the river ; and then, 
on the south side of the river, spreads out into an- 
other narrow suburb some three miles in length. 
The approach from the south to the city of Fuhchau 
is very impressive. For six miles, before reaching 
the gate of the city, the traveler passes along an almost 
unbroken street, lined on both sides with shops and 
residences, and filled with a bustling and vociferating 
crowd. This southern suburb is the great center of 
trade, both native and foreign, in Fuhchau; and it 
is here, in close proximity to the river, that foreigners 
have erected their business hongs and most of their 
residences. The southern bank of the river opposite 
the city swells up into a pretty eminence, and foreign- 
ers have succeeded in obtaining a large part of it for 



148 CITY OF FUHCHAU. 

tlieir private dwellings and offices. This picturesque 
hill, the great temple hill on the northern bank of the 
river, the two stone bridges, and the winding rivei 
with its fleet of boats and junks, are the more prom 
inent features of the scenery in this part of the city. 
The bridges are rude but substantial structures, built 
of granite. There is at this point in the river an 
island called Changchau, or Tongchin, in the local 
dialect, which forms the connecting link between the 
two bridges. The bridge over the northern division 
of the river is called, in popular language, " the great 
bridge," to distinguish it from the smaller one over 
the southern division of the river ; but the title on the 
facade, spanning the entrance to the bridge, is the 
grandiloquent designation, " Bridge of Ten Thousand 
Ages." It is composed of twenty-six spans, each 
span measuring some twenty feet. The piers are 
built strongly of large blocks of granite, and then 
the spans are formed by laying from pier to pier 
large blocks of granite about three feet wide and 
deep, and some twenty-three feet long. These blocks 
are placed side by side, forming a surface about eight 
feet wide, extending the entire length of the bridge. 
On this solid foundation are placed, transversely, thin 
slabs of granite, which form the road for travelers, 
and on each side of the bridge is constructed a stone 
balustrade some two feet high. The other bridge 
connects Changchau to the south side of the river. 
It is similar in construction and appearance to the 
great bridge, though much shorter, comprising 
only nine spans. The Chinese call it the Chong- 
seng Bridge, deriving the title from the local 



BOAT POPULATION. 149 

name of the ward at the southern extremity of the 
bridge. 

The boat population of Fuhchau constitutes a' 
large and interesting class of society. The shoal 
water on both sides of the river, above and below the 
bridges, furnishes excellent anchorage, and is covered 
with immense fleets of all varieties of river craft. 
The larger boats are used for transporting merchan- 
dise to and from the interior of the country, or for 
discharging the cargoes of the salt and rice junks 
entering the port of Fuhchau, while the smaller 
craft are engaged in ferrying and fishing. The sea- 
going junks anchor below the bridges, and at this 
point the river is frequently crowded with them. 
The trade of Fuhchau embraces tea, lumber, rice, 
salt, sugar, charcoal, paper, sea-weed, camphor, and 
other commodities. 

The climate of Fuhchau will compare favorably 
with that of any other part of China. In summer 
the mercury rises to about 98° Fahrenheit, and the 
lowest point reached in winter is 32°. It should be 
observed, however, that, owing to the humidity of the 
atmosphere in China, the same degree of temperature, 
whether of heat or cold, is more oppressive than in 
the United States. From May to the first of October 
the weather is warm, at times oppressively so, and 
foreigners generally suffer from it considerably in the 
loss of appetite, and the consequent prostration of 
physical strength. During this period, however, the 
extreme heat is occasionally modified by the rains, 
which fall copiously for days together. These rains 
occur most generally in May or June, about the time 



150 CITY OF FUHCHAU. 

of the animal freshet in the river, which inundates a 
large portion of the suburbs of the city. From Octo- 
ber to the middle or close of April the atmosphere is 
usually clear, dry, and, at times, bracing. One could 
scarcely desire more agreeable weather than Fuh- 
chau affords during this season of the year. Its cool, 
refreshing atmosphere exerts a most salutary influ- 
ence on the system prostrated by the continued heat 
of the preceding summer. 

The people of Fuhchau are characterized, in the 
main, by energy and perseverance, accompanied by 
an independent free and easy kind of address, which 
frequently degenerates into coarse vulgarity and of- 
fensive impudence. Such we have found to be their 
deportment toward each other as well as toward for- 
eigners. As compared with the Chinese in other 
parts of the empire with whom we have become 
acquainted, the Fuhchauans appear to exhibit more 
of the rough, manly, outspoken traits of character, 
and less of the cunning, servile, and sycophantic 
traits. The native Chinese hauteur is strikingly ap- 
parent among the people of this city, and this char- 
acteristic is perhaps due quite as much to the fact of 
their never having felt the terrible effects of foreign 
military power, as to their constitutional tempera- 
ment. The Fuhchauans, in fact, cherish most cor- 
dially and sincerely a very exalted conception of 
their own importance, both collectively and individ- 
ually. It would seem, indeed, that they are not sin- 
gular in entertaining this opinion, for certain facts 
with which we have become acquainted show that 
the government cherishes a similar estimate of their 



FOREIGN INTERCOURSE. 151 

character. During the negotiations immediately 
preceding the' formation of the Nankin Treaty be- 
tween Great Britain and China in 1842-3, it was ob- 
served that the Chinese officials were exceedingly 
reluctant to include Fuhchau in the list of cities to be 
thrown Open to foreign intercourse, and it was only 
by the most energetic perseverance that the English 
plenipotentiary succeeded in carrying the point. 
The subsequent policy pursued by the Chinese au- 
thorities at Fuhchau indicated their determination to 
prevent, if possible, the growth of a foreign trade at 
that city, and for nearly ten years their policy was 
almost completely successful. In 1853, when the 
movements of the insurgents in the southern prov- 
inces of the empire were cutting off the revenue de- 
rived by the imperial government from the tea duties 
at Canton, the government authorities at Fuhchau 
took measures for opening a foreign trade at that 
city. The trade thus commenced sprang at once into 
a vigorous existence, and has developed rapidly, so 
that now Fuhchau is one of the most important 
points connected with foreign commerce in China. 
Its proximity to the black tea-producing districts 
enables the foreign merchant to purchase his teas here 
at a lower price than at any other port in China, and 
he is able also at the opening of each season to lay 
down the new teas in London, New York, or else- 
where, about a month in advance of shipments from 
any other port in China. 

/ In 1847 the committee appointed for this purpose 
by the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, after a protracted and prayerful examination 



152 CITY OF FUHCHAU. 

of the subject according to the information then in 
their possession, decided that the Fuh-kien province, 
on the coast of China, was the appropriate field for 
the China mission of our Church ; and we are happy 
to corroborate the wisdom of this selection by subse- 
quent facts, and by the experience of our mission in 
the prosecution of its work among the Chinese. Of 
the eighteen provinces of China proper six ar$ situ- 
ated on its eastern sea-board, and furnish to Protestant 
Churches their points d'appui for the evangelization 
of the empire. Of these six maritime provinces four 
have been entered and partially occupied by Amer- 
ican Protestant Missions. In the Canton province 
missions have been established at Canton, and more 
recently at Swatow; in the Fuh-kien province at 
Fuhchau and Amoy ; in the Cheh-kiang province at 
Ningpo, and in the Kiangsi province at Shanghai. 
The American Board has missions at Canton, Fuh- 
chau, and Shanghai ; the Presbyterian Board at 
Nmgpo, Canton, and Shanghai ; the Baptists (North) 
at Hongkong and Mngpo; Baptists (South) at 
Shanghai and Canton. The remaining four Amer- 
ican societies have concentrated their operations at 
one point, the Protestant Episcopal Board and Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church, South, at Shanghai, the 
Dutch Reformed Board at Amoy, and the Methodist 
Episcopal Church at Fuhchau. From this statement 
it appears that there has not yet been a formal 
assignment of Chinese territory to any societies, with 
a view to its efficient occupancy and evangelization 
by them ; and yet we can discover the informal initia- 
tion of the general features of such an arrangement. 



OUR FIELD IN CHINA. 153 

Four of the eight societies referred to have already 
concentrated their forces at one central point ; and 
we think it probable that in the progress of the work 
the other societies will adopt a similar plan. "We 
are not solicitous, however, with reference to the 
formal initiation of the above arrangement ; whether 
or not it goes into effect, we conceive that the present 
tacit distribution of territory will form, in the main, 
the basis for future operations in China. 

Taking the Fuh-kien province, then, as the starting 
point for our operations in China, the expansion of 
our work will necessarily be westward. Eastward is 
the sea, northward we trench on the territory occu- 
pied by the Ningpo missions, southward we enter the 
appropriate sphere of the Amoy missions ; so that, if 
we grow at all, we are shut up to a westward devel- 
opment. The field thus indicated contains the prov- 
inces of Fuh-kien, Kiangsi, Hunan, and Szchuen, 
and forms a belt some three hundred miles wide, 
stretching through the central portion of China from 
its eastern sea-board to Thibet. It contains an area 
of 313,000 square miles, and a population of 74,000,- 
000. Its climate is mild and salubrious, its internal 
resources apparently inexhaustible, and its people 
remarkable in China for their intelligence and enter- 
prise. Foreigners have called Fuh-kien the "New 
Eno-land," and the Fuh-kienese the "Yankees" of 
China. Such is the interesting and inviting field 
providentially assigned to the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and to aid in the evangelization of which 
she is now called upon to send out and support 
missionaries. 



154 CITY OF FUHCHAU. 

Fuhchau, the capital of Fuh-kien, has hitherto been 
the center of our operations in China, and its advant- 
ages in this respect are probably as many and great 
as those of any other city on the coast of China. Its 
foreign commerce brings it into direct and easy com- 
munication with the home Churches, while its native 
trade opens up channels of intercourse with the inte- 
rior of the country. Our mission here is gradually 
coming into possession of the buildings and other 
appliances necessary for a great center of missionary 
operations. The Church is not to expect, in all the 
mission fields she may enter, precisely the same 
encouragements. In some fields it would seem that 
the work of preparation had been already performed, 
and that the missionary has only to gather in the 
harvest. In others the harvest so rapidly follows the 
seedtime that the voices of the sowers mingle with 
the songs of the reapers. But there are other fields 
where the giant oaks must be felled, the tangled 
undergrowth torn away, the soil broken up, the seed 
sown, and then the husbandman wait through long 
months of sunshine and storm for the reward of his 
toil. At Athens Paul was confronted by the caviling 
Stoic and Epicurean, at Lystra he was hailed as a. 
god, at Ephesus he was set upon by an infuriated 
mob ; while at Antioch, where the disciples were first 
called Christians, he, with Barnabas, tarried a whole 
year, assembling with the Church and teaching much 
people. Some of the Indian tribes of North America, 
where our own missionaries have labored, and the 
Karens of India, where our Baptist brethren have 
preached the Gospel with such success, furnish 



GREATNESS OF THE WORK. 155 

instances of fields white unto the harvest, while the 
efforts of the Moravians in Greenland, and of the 
English and American missionaries in the South 
Pacific, in parts of India, and in China, give us exam- 
ples of earnest, faithful labor, and patient, persevering 
waiting for the desired result. 

He who knows somewhat of the vastness of the 
work to be done in China will be neither discouraged 
nor surprised to find that its day of preparation is long 
and toilsome. The immense population of the em- 
pire, the vast extent of territory over which this 
population is diffused, the antiquity and power of 
their political and literary institutions, the intermina- 
ble network of superstitions which trammels their 
minds, and their written language, with its unnum- 
bered spoken dialects, all these circumstances combine 
to present to the Church an array of difficulties which 
nothing but the most implicit faith in God's word, 
and the most prompt and hearty obedience to his 
commands, can overcome. 

It is important that we recognize the greatness of 
the work to be done in China, if we would have our 
efforts for its accomplishment wisely directed and 
efficiently sustained. Let the Church then bear in 
mind that it now seeks to change the religious faith 
and crush the religious institutions of one third of the 
human race • that it proposes to strike down before 
their eyes the objects endeared to them by a thousand 
associations ; that it hastens to tear from their hearts 
the hopes and aspirations which their depraved 
natures and corrupt faith have ever nourished and 
shielded ; that it wages a war of extermination against 



156 CITY OF FUHCHAU. 

idolatry, not sparing even that most insidious and 
attractive form of it embodied in ancestral worship ; 
that it introduces to them a religious system of which 
they are almost totally ignorant, and the simplicity 
and purity of whose doctrines must necessarily excite 
the sternest opposition from their previously formed 
habits and their depraved natures; and that these 
doctrines are preached to them by foreigners, with 
whom, in consequence of a difficult language and 
dissimilar tastes and feelings, they cannot fully sym- 
pathize : these are some of the circumstances which 
suggest to the Church that the work before her in 
China is of no ordinary magnitude and difficulty. 

What then ? With the outlines of this immense 
field, and the greatness of the work opening up and 
extending before us, shall we sit down in desponden- 
cy, and suffer the enemy still to enjoy undisturbed 
dominion in China ? or shall we gird ourselves to the 
mighty struggle, and claim this empire for our Lord 
and Master, demanding for him the homage, obe- 
dience, and love of every heart ? It is high time for 
us to consider this subject, to rise to the height of the 
grand argument. China at this hour demands from 
the Church tenfold more of men and means than she 
receives ; and it is almost certain that within the next 
decadal period these demands will increase a hund- 
redfold. The cycle of wondrous events has already 
commenced in China. The first throes of the ap- 
proaching conflict have shaken her giant frame. It 
would seem that the Gospel is about to renew its 
youth, preparatory to the accomplishment of glorious 
results in this old, storied land. The age of heroism, 



PROGRESS. 



157 



of battle and conquest, may again return to the 
Church. There are indications that the Gospel is 
already arresting the attention of the Chinese in an 
extraordinary degree. The Sacred Scriptures circu- 
lated throughout the empire have opened the eyes 
and interested the hearts of thousands. A great 
movement is now going forward, and who can tell how 
soon other mines may be sprung under the shattered 
structure of heathenism as it now exists in China ? 

The following table, showing the names and terms 
of service of all the missionaries connected with this 
mission to the present time, is appropriately intro- 
duced here, and will prove, we trust, interesting and 
acceptable to the reader : 






Rev. 
Eev. 
Mes. 
Rev. 
Rev. 
Mes. 
Miss 
Rev. 
Rev. 
Mes. 
Mes. 
Miss 
Rev. 
Rev. 
Mes. 
Mes. 
Eev. 
Mes. 
Miss 
Miss 
Miss 
Rev. 
Mes. 
Rev. 
Mes. 



M. C. White 

J. D. Collins 

J. I. White 

H. Hiokoh 

R. S. Macla-y J 

E. G. Hickok 

H. C. SpeeeyS 

I. W. Wiley, M. D. . . 

J. COLDEE.. 

F. J. Wiley ^ 

E. C. COLDEB..« 

M. Seely 3 

E. Wentwoeth, D.D. 
0. Gieson 

A. M. Wentwoeth. . . 

E. C. Gibson 

S. L. Baldwin 

N. M. Baldwin* 

B. Woolstojt 

S. E. Woolston 

P. E. Potter 5 

C. E. Maetin 

Mabtin*. 

N. Sites 

Sites. . . * 



1847 
1847 
1847 
1847 
1847 
1847 
1850 
1851 
1851 
1851 
1851 
1851 
1855 
1855 
1855 
1855 
1858 
1858 
1858 
1858 
1858 
1859 
1859 
1861 
1861 



1848 



1853 



1855 



1852 



1858 



1861 



1854 
1851 



1849 
1845 



1854 
1854 



1854 
1S54 



1801 



1 Visited U. S. A. with his family, 1860. 
3 Married-to M. C. White, 1851. 4 At 
5 Married to E. Wentworth, D.D., 1859. 



2 Married to R. S. Maclay, 1850. 
sea, off the United States coast, March, 16. 



158 BUILDINGS, 



CHAPTER X. 

BUILDINGS, LAND-TENURE, ETC. 

Intimately connected with the practical operation 
of a Christian mission in heathen lands, there is a 
large amount of what may be called civil engineer- 
ing. The work of evangelizing the heathen would 
be much simplified, both in theory and practice, if 
the missionary could devote himself exclusively to 
preaching the Gospel. Actual experience in this 
enterprise, however, has shown that the duties of the 
foreign missionary are numerous and varied, and that 
his qualifications should be composite rather than 
simple, his talents painstaking rather than brilliant. 
Transferred from the known influences of a home at- 
mosphere to the unknown tendencies of a foreign 
climate, from the refined comforts of Christian civili- 
zation to the rugged exigencies of, at best, semi-bar- 
barism, the missionary, on entering the foreign field, 
finds himself confronted with necessities at once mul- 
tifarious and imperative. One of his first and most 
urgent wants is a place of residence for himself and 
family. There is, perhaps, no heathen people in 
whose houses it would be safe or prudent for the for- 
eign missionary to reside. In the selection of sites 
for dwelling-houses, churches, school-houses, etc. ; in 



CHINESE HOUSES. 159 

preparing plans, drawing up contracts, choosing ma- 
terials for the buildings, and in superintending their 
erection, he will find ample opportunity for the exer- 
cise of all the business talent and knowledge he may 
possess. 

In Fuhchau the Chinese houses generally are 
only one story high, built of wood, with lath and 
plaster, and covered with tiles. The houses of the 
lower classes, stores, shops, etc., open directly on the 
street, and frequently the entire front is thrown open 
during the day, but closed again at night. The 
house is lighted through openings in the front and 
rear, furnished, in many instances, with wooden 
shutters to close against the wind and rain. The 
houses have neither chimneys nor ceiling, and fre- 
quently have only earthen floors. Thus constructed, 
these buildings are low, dark, hot, filthy, and neces- 
sarily unhealthy. The houses of the higher classes 
are superior, in some respects, to those we have just 
described, and yet they are rude, uncomfortable, 
gloomy structures. They are built between two high 
walls, and have, in front and rear, open courts in- 
closed by a continuation of the high side walls of the 
premises. These open courts are paved with smooth, 
flat stones, and in most cases have a well, protected 
by a stone curb, in the center or corner. They are 
frequently ornamented, with shrubbery, flowers, and 
artificial rocks and poles. Occasionally, on each 
side of the court, as you enter from the street, you 
will see a row of low rooms placed against the side 
wall, with roofs sloping inwards, and extending from 
the front wall to the main building. Passing through 



160 BUILDINGS, LAND-TENUKE, ETC. 

this court you enter the central room of the house, 
having a room of similar width, but less depth, imme- 
diately in the rear of it. On each side of the central 
room is another room of similar depth, but narrower, 
and having also in their rear a room corresponding to 
the one behind the central room. The rear court is 
similar to the one in front, though generally it is 
smaller and less tastefully fitted up. Large mansions 
sometimes comprise a series of houses with interven- 
ing courts, such as we have described, extending 
back from the street, and formed into, one general 
compound by a high wall surrounding the entire 
premises. 

The principal building materials used in Fuh- 
chau are wood, brick, tiles, stone, lime, etc. The 
wood most generally employed is a kind of pine or 
cedar. It is easily worked, light, and durable. There 
are varieties of hard wood much used for costly work, 
but they are not employed to any considerable extent 
in house-building. This pine or cedar is very abund- 
ant at Fuhchau, and can be obtained at reasonable 
prices. It is cut from the mountains in the interior 
of China, and is floated in rafts down the Min to Fuh- 
chau. Lumber is an important item in the native 
export trade of this city, and large quantities of it are 
annually shipped to the northern ports of China. 
Bricks are abundant and of good quality. One kind 
is of a light, ashy color ; another kind is made from a 
reddish soil, and when burnt is very similar, in color, 
to the red brick used in the United States. These 
bricks can be procured in any quantity, and of any 
size or quality. In order to insure a good quality, 



BUILDING MATERIALS. 161 

however, it is necessary to have a written contract 
with either the merchant or manufacturer, speci- 
fying the exact kind of brick desired. The bricks in 
common nse among the Chinese are of an inferior 
quality. They are burnt about ten miles from 
Fuhchau, in kilns similar to those used in America. 
There is also a flat kind of brick, measuring about 
fourteen inches square by one inch thick. It is red, 
well burnt, and much used in facing cooking ranges, 
paving bathing rooms, and for covering terraces or 
flat-roofed houses. The tiles are made at the places 
where the bricks are burnt. They are prepared with 
a kind of earth .which, when burnt thoroughly, is of a 
pale ashy color. The tile is about nine inches square, 
always a little narrower at one end than at the other, 
and about one quarter of an inch thick. Its form is 
oval, so that when laid in a row they form a kind of 
trough. When well laid on, they make a safe and 
durable roof. Their weight is the great difficulty to 
be overcome in adapting them to foreign use, where 
large chambers, parlors, and audience-rooms, as in 
churches, are desired. It is sometimes difficult to 
construct a self-supporting roof sufficiently strong to 
resist the pressure of the tiles required to cover it. 
Granite is the kind of stone used for building pur- 
poses. It is quarried from the mountains on the 
banks of the Min, about fifteen miles below Fuh- 
chau. The quality is excellent, the price moderate, 
and the supply apparently inexhaustible. It is cut 
with hammer and chisel from the solid rock in blocks 
of size and shape to suit purchasers, is then moved 
carefully down the side of the mountain and placed 

11 



162 BUILDINGS, LAND-TENUKE, ETC. 

on strong boats for transportation to Euhchau. 
Their lime is prepared from the shells of oysters, 
clams, muscles, and other bivalves, whose flesh is 
eaten by the Chinese. These shells are burnt in 
large kilns, and produce an excellent quality of lime, 
suitable for mortar, cement, plaster, whitewash, etc. 
It is almost impossible, however, to obtain the lime in 
a pure state, as the adulteration of it by the admix- 
ture of a kind of white earth is generally practiced by 
the Chinese. This system of adulteration is carried 
on so skillfully and persistently that it is difficult, 
without the application of scientific tests, to detect the 
imposition; and after a few indignant protests 
against the cheat, the purchaser gradually subsides 
into a stoical indifference on the subject, and seeks to 
indemnify himself by beating down the prices to the 
lowest possible figure. 

The title by which foreigners hold property in 
China deserves at least a passing notice in this con- 
nection. Until within a comparatively recent period 
the imperial government of China affected contemp- 
tously to ignore even the presence of foreigners with- 
in its dominions, and persistently withheld from them 
all civil immunities and political consideration. The 
war of 1842-3, however, between England and China 
effectually dissipated this illusion, and served to 
initiate for the Chinese government a more just and 
magnanimous policy with regard to foreign inter- 
course. By the treaty formed at the close of that 
war China ceded to England the island of Hongkong ; 
and in subsequent negotiations grants of land at 
Shanghai, Amoy, and other ports, were made to cer- 



PEICE OF LAND. 163 

tain foreign governments for the use of their subjects 
or citizens, who thus derived the title to the land they 
obtained, from their respective governments. 

At Fuhchau no land was set apart by the Chinese 
government for foreign occupancy, and we accord- 
ingly proceeded to obtain situations wherever they 
were offered in desirable positions. Our first lots 
were procured by the payment of an annual rent, but 
this arrangement was not entirely satisfactory to us, 
and we soon sought to procure more reliable titles for 
them. At the outset, however, we were confronted 
by a most formidable difficulty. In China there are 
neither mesne lords nor allodial proprietors of the 
soil ; all Chinese landowners hold their lands directly 
from the emperor, who is regarded as the great land- 
lord of the empire. In accordance with this view, 
the Chinese government conceived that it would be un- 
lawful to sell, that is, in their judgment, alienate any 
portion of the territory of China to a foreigner. Af- 
ter a protracted discussion of the subject, it was 
finally arranged that whenever a foreigner obtained 
landed property from a Chinese, the Chinese land- 
lord should give him a perpetual lease of the property, 
for and in consideration of a specified sum of money, 
which he accepts as the value or price of said prop- 
erty. This perpetual lease is regarded as, in all re- 
spects, equivalent to a purchase. In thus leasing his 
property to a foreigner, the Chinese landlord transfers 
to the lessee all the old deeds and other papers be- 
longing to the property, and then writes for him, in 
triplicate, a new deed or article of perpetual lease, 
which, having been duly sealed by both the Chinese 



164 BUILDINGS, LAND-TENURE, ETC. 

officer and foreign consul, becomes the valid title for 
the property. One copy of this triplicate is deposited 
with the Chinese government, another with the con- 
sul of the country to which the purchaser belongs, 
and the third is held by the purchaser. 

The following is a translation of the title-deed by 
which we hold one of our lots in Fuhchau, and is a 
fair specimen of such documents : 

Article of perpetual lease, showing — That 
Tieu Eang, holding a plat of land which he purchased 
in the twenty-eighth year of the emperor Tau-Kwang, 
situated in the Tienang ward, Mirror Hill vicinity, 
and bounded west by the premises of "W. S. Sloan, 
Esq., east, including the ground below the embank- 
ment, by the wall of the Tienang temple, south by 
the old wall of the lot, and north by Mr. Maclay's 
premises ; everything concerning said lot being clear, 
he now voluntarily transfers it on perpetual lease to 
the American teacher, E. S. Maclay, and others, for 
the purposes of erecting buildings and living thereon. 
He receives this day as the price of said land the sum 
of six hundred dollars. 

Everything on said lot is at the disposal of the 
aforesaid Mr. Maclay and others, and he may cut 
down the fruit trees on it, or allow them to remain, 
just as he pleases. 

After paying for the land, Mr. Maclay shall never 
pay any more money for the land, and the landlord 
Nang shall never bring up any other matters. But 
should the title prove to be defective, or should it ap- 
pear that the property has been sold to other parties, 



LEGAL CHARGES. 165 

and persons come forward to dispute, then Nang 
shall settle the matter, and it shall not concern Mr. 
Maclay. 

In witness whereof, this deed of perpetual lease, in 
three forms, is prepared. 

(Signed) Tieu Nang, Landlord. 

Sah-Huah Lyng, "Witness. 

Hienfung, fifth year and second month. 
[A. D., April, 1855.] 

In the foregoing deed or lease we notice : 

1. The full value of the land is paid down at once 
by the foreigner to the Chinese landlord. 

2. In consequence of receiving the stipulated value 
of his land, the Chinese landlord disclaims "forever" 
all title to said land, and all right to any other pay- 
ment of money upon it. 

3. He also pledges himself to guarantee to the for- 
eigner a valid and clear title to said land, or land 
and buildings thereon erected. 

The legal charges in procuring this lease are : 

1. The consular fee, ten dollars, for stamping each 
deed. In our case this charge has not been made. 

2. A per centage of about eight per cent, on the pur- 
chase money, to be paid to the Chinese government 
when tJie land purchased is occupied by buildings. 
This per centage is paid by the purchaser. Thus far, 
I believe, no foreigner here has paid this per centage ; 
but, as it is the custom among the Chinese, I see no 
reason why foreigners should refuse to pay it if 
requested to do so. This charge would affect only 
our purchase of the chapel lot at Iongtau ; possibly 



166 BUILDINGS, LAND-TENUKE, ETC. 

also the chapel lot in Chong-seng ; but our other 
lots being unoccupied land, are free from this 
charge. 

When cultivated land is purchased the government 
receives annually its tax in kind, as formerly, unless 
the foreigner compounds with the government by 
paying down at once a specified sum. The lots we 
have purchased in the olive orchard are cultivated 
land ; but the Chinese landlord compounded with the 
government many years ago, so that there is no 
ground tax on them. 

As a matter of economy, we all greatly prefer to 
hold property by perpetual lease. The prices we have 
paid for our lots would pay the annual rents accru- 
ing on them only from, four to seven years. 

The mission now holds by perpetual lease all its 
property in Fuhchau, except the land in the lot I 
occupy. This we hope to get in a year or two, and 
then we shall have all the land we shall need for 
dwelling houses for many years. 

The annexed schedule of prices will indicate the 
value of land in Fuhchau at the time these lots were 
purchased. It is necessary to add that recently the 
price of lots suitable for foreign residence has largely 
increased : 

1. For a very desirable building lot, situated just 
back of the premises I occupy, measuring about one 
hundred and twenty by two hundred and forty feet, 
and sufficient for two dwelling houses, the mission 
paid six hundred dollars. 

2. For a chapel lot situated on the main street 
leading to the south gate of the city, and measuring 



MISSION RESIDENCES. 169 

about sixty-six by one hundred and forty-five feet, 
the mission paid four hundred dollars. 

3. For the lot on which Dr. Wentworth's house 
now stands, measuring one hundred and twenty by 
one hundred and seventy feet, the mission paid three 
hundred and fifty dollars. 

4. For the chapel lot just in front of the premises 
I occupy, measuring sixty-two by one hundred and 
forty feet, the mission paid one hundred and fifty- 
four dollars fifteen cents. 

5. For the lot on which Messrs. Russell & Co.'s 
house stands we are to pay three hundred and fifty 
dollars. This lot is two hundred and fifty feet deep, 
with a front of ninety feet, and a rear of forty. 

The first building fitted up by the mission in Fuh- 
chau for a place of residence was an old Chinese 
house, one story high, and surrounded by high walls. 
The house stood on the island called Changchau, and . 
during the annual flood in the river, which occurs in 
May or June, the water would rise about two feet 
above its floor. To adapt the place to foreign occu- 
pancy, it consequently became necessary to add 
another story to the building, and transfer the resi- 
dence for the family from the lower to the upper floor, 
using the rooms on the lower floor for store-rooms, 
kitchen, and servants' apartments. The house was 
raised by splicing the posts, occasionally inserting a 
new one to reach the entire heighth of the building, 
putting down a second floor, setting up new parti- 
tions, and relaying the roof. 

The engraving shows the upper or west end of the 
Changchau island. The house on the left was former- 



170 BUILDINGS, LAND-TENURE, ETC. 

ly owned by the Methodist Episcopal mission. The 
two houses on the right were built by the American 
Board mission. All this property has now passed into 
other hands, the missions having obtained more 
eligible situations elsewhere. 

The first house built from the ground by the mis- 
sion stands on Mirror Hill, and is a light frame struc- 
ture, with lath and plaster walls and partitions. The 
mission decided to erect these cheap buildings be- 
cause, at that time, from the temper and policy of the 
Chinese authorities at Fuhchau, it seemed very doubt- 
ful whether they would permit us to remain there for 
any considerable length of time, and also because at 
that early day we were not folly prepared to decide as 
to the best kind of house for that climate. .Subsequen t 
experience in the climate convinced us that as a gen- 
eral rule it is best to erect, wherever practicable, sub- 
stantial brick buildings for dwelling houses, church 
edifices, etc. The original outlay of money for these 
buildings is much greater than for the frame houses 
to which we have referred ; but for this there is more 
than ample compensation in the greater durability of 
the houses, in the comparatively small expense they 
entail on the mission in the way of annual repairs, 
and in the increased comfort and security of their oc- 
cupants. In Fuhchau the winters are very mild, and 
there is scarcely any frost, so that in preparing the 
foundation for a house it is not necessary to dig deep 
trenches to get beyond the influence of frost. In low 
situations it is necessary to drive wooden piles, from 
five to ten feet long, in the ground wherever a wall is 
to be built. Flat stones about three feet long are then 



WALLS, PAKTITIONS, ETC. 173 

laid down over the piles, the stones being placed trans- 
versely to the line of the wall, and on these stones 
the foundation of the honse is built. The foundation 
is always of stone, rising at least one foot above the 
surface of the ground, or, in cases of inequality of 
surface, until the foundation is about one foot above 
the highest part of the ground. In high situations, 
where the ground is dry and hard, the fiat stones are 
sufficient, and on these alone the foundation is built. 
Two kinds of stone wall are used for foundations : the 
one of long, smoothly-dressed stones, laid in right lines, 
and presenting a handsome appearance ; the other of a 
kind of cobble-stone, so laid as to form acute angles, 
and presenting an appearance singular and not un- 
sightly. In building this cobble-stone kind of wall, 
it is necessary to begin with a wide base, and contract 
the sides as you ascend. No mortar is used in this 
cobble-stone work. The mason selects the best stones 
for the sides, the handsomest being placed on the out- 
side, and then the middle of the wall is filled up with 
the refuse. In building the other kind of wall, the 
mason forms a kind of box with side and cross stones, 
and then fills up this vacuum with any coarse stones, 
thrown in without any regard to beauty or order. 
The surface and exterior edges of the side stones are 
cut and smoothed into perfectly straight lines, and are 
fitted to each other with great exactness. In this 
kind of work a kind of cement, formed from lime, 
oil, and hemp, is used to supply any defects in the 
facing stones. Bricks are laid in a mortar made 
from a reddish kind of earth, with the admixture 
of lime. For plastering walls, partitions, etc., the 



174 BUILDINGS, LAJSTD-TENUKE, ETC. 

first coat is generally a rough preparation of earth, 
cut straw, and lime ; the second coat is a mixture of 
river mud and sawdust ; and this is immediately fol- 
lowed by the third and last coat, which is a composi- 
tion of the best lime and white paper. This produces 
a beautifully white surface, if the materials are of 
good quality, and the work properly executed. Tiles, 
such as we have already described, are universally 
employed in covering roofs. The tiles are laid on 
a flooring of thin boards nailed over the lathing of the 
roof, and are placed in rows running up and down 
the sides of the roof. The tiles are laid on this floor- 
ing without any mortar or cement except at the eaves, 
ends, and comb of the roof, where mortar is employed 
to protect the tiles from the action of the wind and 
rains. In covering a roof; the first work is to make 
the comb ; and in doing this, tiles, brick, and mortar 
are employed. A bed of soft earth is made along the 
comb of the roof; on this a thin layer of single tiles 
is laid, then another layer of earth, followed by an- 
other of tiles, until the comb has attained a sufficient 
height, when it is surmounted by one or two layers of 
brick, and then entirely covered with plaster, either 
white or colored. The ends of the roof are then 
formed in a somewhat similar manner, though with 
less expenditure of materials and labor. These pre- 
liminaries completed, the tile-layers proceed with the 
body of the roof. Commencing at the eaves, the tiles 
are laid in parallel rows, from two or three to four 
inches apart, up to the comb of the roof. In these 
rows the tiles overlap each other, so that each tile 
presents only about three inches of its surface to the 



MISSION COMPOUND. 177 

weather. The first rows are laid directly on the 
boards of the roof, with the concave side of the tile 
placed upward, and the rows being, as already stated, 
from three to four inches apart. These narrow spaces 
between the rows are then covered by upper rows of 
tiles, the tiles overlapping each other as in the lower 
rows, but having their convex surface turned upward. 
To protect these tiles against the force of the winds, 
their edges are covered with a lime mortar, and single 
bricks are set in cement on the top, at intervals of 
about four feet. 

In the accompanying picture the mission com- 
pound crowns the summit and slope of the hill on the 
south side of the river. It contains six dwelling- 
houses, only four of which, however, appear in the 
above cut. Beginning at the left side of the picture 
you have the corner of a house belonging to a for- 
eign merchant. Passing to the right you have 
(1) a low bungalow occupied by Rev. R. S. Ma- 
clay ; (2) a two-storied house by a flagstaff, formerly 
the United States consulate, but now belonging 
to our mission, and occupied by Rev. S. L. Bald- 
win; (3) a two-storied house now forming the 
Chinese portion of the Waugh Female Academy. 
Immediately to the right of this, in the background 
underneath a flagstaff, is the British consulate. Then 
we have (4) the residence of the Rev. Dr. "Went- 
worth. On the extreme right is a portion of the 
residence of another foreign merchant. The edifice 
was subsequently removed, and its place is now 
filled by a very pretty and substantial building for 
the Church of England service. 

12 



178 



TEIP INTO THE COUNTRY. 



CHAPTER XI. 

TRIP INTO THE COUNTRY. 

On the 4th of January, 1849, in company with the 
late Rev. J. D. Collins, I started on a trip of explora- 
tion np the Min River. A small Chinese boat, rowed 
by four stout Chinese, sufficed for ourselves and trav- 
eling equipage. We felt great interest in the pro- 
posed excursion as it was our first attempt to explore 
a portion of China on which, so far as we knew, no 
foreigner had ever looked. Our plan was to wear 
our own costume, make no effort at concealment or 
deception, distribute Christian books, talk to the peo- 
ple^ and advance as far into the country as the 
authorities would allow, or as we might deem desira- 
ble. It was moreover highly gratifying to us to think 
of escaping even temporarily from the persistent sur- 
veillance to which we had been subjected for nearly a 
year by the Chinese in Fuhchau. Availing our- 
selves of the flood tide we commenced the voyage, 
and were soon passing through the fleets of boats 
anchored in the river. On our right rises a bold hill 
covered with pines and banians, through whose thick 
foliage peer out at intervals the cottage of the peas- 
ant and the more pretentious temple edifice. Look- 
ing to the right, as the boat sweeps along, the eye 






UPPER BRIDGE. 179 

falls on a vast extent of slate-colored roofs, relieved 
by the foliage of the overspreading evergreens which 
constitute so attractive a feature in Fuhchau scenery. 
Beyond, and overlooking this portion of the city, 
stands the great temple hill, with its altar, sward, 
and trees, where at sunset the people meet for recrea- 
tion and amusement ; while still farther to the north- 
ward you trace the outlines of the towering mount- 
ains which for centuries have beleaguered this old 
city. 

The course of the river, as we ascend, is quite 
circuitous, at one time trending away southward, 
and then suddenly deflecting to an almost due north- 
erly point. The channel, too, we found to be of 
very unequal depth, pur boat sometimes passing 
over places where a frigate might float, and then sud- 
denly thumping its keel on one of the sandbars 
which cross the river in all possible directions. 
About six miles above Fuhchau we came to the 
" upper bridge," a stone structure similar to those at 
the city, which we have already described. The 
water rushes through its spans with great velocity, 
and it is only at or near the top of the tide that boats 
can go through with safety. A small village stands 
near the end of the bridge on the right bank, and a 
petty officer is stationed here to look after the river 
traffic. Fearing the officer might prevent our going 
any farther, the boatmen advised us to conceal our- 
selves under the cover of the boat ; but we preferred 
a seat on the forward deck, where all could see 
us, and accordingly directed the men to pull away at 
their oars and answer promptly when hailed from 



180 TKIP INTO THE COUNTRY. 

the shore. The policemen soon saw us, and our 
approach evidently produced considerable excite- 
ment. Lictors were seen hurrying hither and 
thither through the motley crowd that had assem- 
bled to gaze at the foreigners. We could distinctly 
hear the jargon of their voices, while our ears 
were saluted by successive vollies of ejaculations and 
objurgations designed for our benefit. 

" Where are you from ?" at length shouted a sten- 
torian voice from the shore. 

"From Fuhchau," answered our man at the 
rudder. 

" What cargo have you ?" 

"]STo cargo; we are chartered by two foreigners 
for a trip up the river." 

Then followed an earnest and noisy colloquy 
among the police on shore, and we waited with much 
interest for the result. Meanwhile our boat was 
moving forward, and while 4 the air was ringing with 
the vociferations of the excited lictors, we passed the 
village, and stood on our course. We soon entered 
a beautiful pass formed by sparsely wooded hills, 
which sloped down to the water's edge. A well- 
beaten foot-path ran along the hills on the right, and 
as there were houses or people in sight we could not 
resist the temptation to take a run on the hills. For 
the first time since entering China we now experienced 
a sensation of relief from Chinese curiosity, and were 
conscious of a kind of home feeling. To our mutual 
surprise and amusement, we soon found ourselves 
running and leaping over the hills, indulging in all 
sorts of impromptu peripatetics and calisthenics. 



MOONLIGHT EAMBLE. 181 

Toward nightfall we anchored near a sandy beach, 
about five miles above the upper bridge. The valley 
of the Min is here some ten miles wide, with alluvial 
savannas stretching from both banks of the river, 
away to the dark mountains, whose rugged outlines 
are limned against the sky. Our anchorage was a 
retired, quiet spot, the nearest village was a mile 
distant from us, and after our evening repast we 
landed for a moonlight stroll along the beach. I 
shall not readily forget the scene or the emotions it 
excited. At our feet lay the broad river, whose 
waters had flowed directly from the interior of this 
great and, to foreigners, almost unknown country; 
around us were rice farms, fruit-orchards, groves, 
villages, and the graves of those who 

"Sleep the sleep that knows no waking;" 

while, flashing out like brilliant stars through the 
night air, we could discern the lights of Chinese 
dwellings, within whose frail walls thousands of the 
natives were now chatting over their evening meal, 
totally unconscious that in such close proximity 
to their ancient homesteads two strangers from 
the western ocean were quietly rambling, to enjoy 
their beautiful scenery, and the balmy air of their 
eastern sky. 

Before day-break next morning we resumed our 
voyage, and throughout the day the general course 
of the river, as we ascended, continued about from 
southeast to northwest. Some six miles above our 
last night's anchorage the mountains, becoming more 
lofty and precipitous, again closed in upon the river. 



182 TRIP INTO THE COUNTRY. 

leaving only a narrow valley, varying from one to 
five miles in width. The river banks are skirted 
with orchards of the orange, olive, pumalo, pome- 
granate, tallow, lichi, lunganj and other fruit trees, 
interspersed with fields of luxuriant sugar-cane, and 
copses of tasteful bamboo. Early in the forenoon our 
attention was attracted by an object floating in the 
water near the shore. Rapacious birds were hover- 
ing around it, while one and another in rapid succes- 
sion would alight on it and drive their beaks into it. 
"We had heard of female infanticide among the Chi- 
nese, but had never seen positive proof that they 
were guilty of the horrible practice. The terrible 
idea at once flashed upon our minds that the object 
before us was the body of some cast-away infant, 
which the birds were now tearing to pieces. I con- 
fess to a sickening sensation as the dreadful truth 
fastened on my mind. " What is that?" we inquired 
of the boatmen, as we pointed to the object which 
had arrested our attention. They shook their heads, 
and for a while seemed unwilling to answer our ques- 
tion, but finally answered : " A cast- away infant." The 
birds slowly retired as we approached, and on coming 
up to the object our worst fears were realized. There, 
lashed to a small bundle of straw, were the mutilated 
and loathsome remains of a tender infant. Half of the 
face and one side with the entrails were eaten away, 
but the rest of the body was perfect. " Let us bury it," 
we involuntarily exclaimed ; and digging with our 
hands and a few pieces of boards a deep hole in the 
sand, we committed the disfigured corpse to the rest 
and protection of the best grave we could then pro- 



SUGAE FACTORY. 183 

vide for it. Out boatmen utterly refused to assist us. 
They sat in the boat scarcely venturing to look at us 
while engaged in our mournful task. Smoothing the 
surface of the grave, and breathing a prayer for the 
besotted inhabitants of this dark land, we turned 
away from the spot with saddened hearts, and re- 
sumed our voyage. During the forenoon we landed 
for a walk along the shore. We passed through 
fields and groves and villages, startling the people by 
our unexpected appearance among them, and exciting 
the wrath of troops of yelping curs, both " mongrel, 
puppy, whelp, and hound," who kept the air ring- 
ing with their protracted concerts of canine music. 

We passed large fields of sugar-cane, and a little 
below Min-ching we came to a sugar factory in active 
operation. The building was a frail wooden struc- 
ture, covered with thatch, and one story high. It 
was surrounded with innumerable stacks of ripe cane 
ready for the sugar-making process. The interior of 
the building was occupied by the mill for bruising the 
cane, the vats or reservoirs for the juice, the kettles 
for boiling it, etc. The mill was quite similar to 
those used in the United States for bruising apples in 
the cider-making process. Bullocks were employed 
in turning the mill, and the machinery, though simple 
in conception and clumsy in construction, seemed 
efficient in action. The press was constructed on the 
lever principle in a most primitive stage of develop- 
ment. The expressed juice is conveyed to vats sunk 
in the earth, and then by successive processes of 
filtrat^n and boiling is converted into sugar. The 
factory we examined prepared only the coarser qua!- 



184 TRIP INTO THE COUNTRY. 

ities of sugar; but in other parts of the Fuh-kien 
province there are extensive factories which produce 
white sugar, loaf sugar, and a rock candy, which is a 
superior article of sugar. Bidding good-by to the 
workmen, who had kindly allowed us to watch their 
operations, we passed through some villages and 
climbed some beautiful hills, followed by a few ener- 
getic boys, who observed our proceedings with great 
interest. Descending the slope of the last hill, we 
unexpectedly found ourselves on the outskirts of a 
large village called Min-cMng, where there is a resi- 
dent government officer. It had been our wish and 
purpose to approach this place as quietly as possible, 
hoping in this way to pass without being noticed from 
the shore ; but our forenoon ramble completely spoiled 
this arrangement. Our appearance in the villages 
and on the hills along the river had been heralded 
far and wide, so that when we approached Min-ching 
we met the entire population pouring out to\see us. 
It was too late to undo the mischief, and all we could 
now hope for was to escape from the gathering crowds 
by stepping quickly into our boat and pulling out 
into the stream. 

" You have spoiled everything," said our boatmen 
despondingly as the boat moved away from the 
shore ; and we felt sure our voyage would terminate 
at this point. The people were evidently excited, 
crowds gathered on the bank of the river to look at 
us, and the activity • of the police, discernible by 
their costume, showed us that the mandarin was 
aware of our approach. The crowds beckon^, and 
called to our boatmen to stop, but no attention was 



OBEY ORDERS. 185 

paid to them ; and as we received no official intima- 
tion to suspend our voyage, we kept on our course, 
and began to flatter ourselves that possibly we might 
still be allowed to go forward. We were now right 
abreast of the mandarin's office, when whirr, boom, 
slang, bang, went the drums and gongs, and hundreds 
of hands were vibrating most rapidly in the air, beck- 
oning to the shore. 

"What shall we do?" inquired the boatmen. 

" Obey orders," we replied. 

As we approached the shore we observed an official 
personage moving down to meet us. Directing our 
men to answer truthfully all official inquiries, we 
supplied ourselves with some of our Christian books 
and tracts, and, retaining our position on the forward 
deck of the boat, awaited the issue. As we drew up 
to the landing the crowd subsided into a state of 
quiet expectancy, and the official personage, to whom 
we have already referred, stepped forward with be- 
coming dignity and grace to interrogate us. The 
bank was somewhat steep, the soil was rather moist, 
and just as his excellency was about taking his final 
position preparatory to commencing his oration, an 
unfortunate misstep precipitated his entire length 
into the mud. The collapse was terrible, and a roar 
of laughter burst from the crowd. Unabashed by 
the untoward accident, the plucky officer was 
instantly on his feet again, and sternly commanding 
silence, while the attending lictors cleaned the mud 
from his soiled robes, he proceeded to catechize our 
boatmen : 

" Where are yon from ?" was the first inquiry. 



186 TEIP INTO THE COUNTRY. 

"From Fuhchau," replied our boatmen, with an 
unusual degree of assurance. 

" Where are you going ?" 

"Tip the river, to distribute books. These are 
foreign teachers, and it is their custom to travel 
through the country, talking to the people and dis- 
tributing books." 

At this point we interjected a few words explana- 
tory of our character and operations. 
( " How long will you be gone ?" inquired the officer, 
evidently disposed to. favor our enterprise. "We gave 
him all the desired information, and he promptly 
responded : " Very well, continue your trip, and re- 
port yourselves here on your return." 

Delighted with this unexpected issue of the affair, 
and anxious to avail ourselves of so good an oppor- 
tunity to commend the Gospel to one in authority, 
we ventured a few remarks about the doctrines of 
Jesus, and begged his honor to accept some of our 
books. He received them with studied propriety of 
manner, and then, desiring to make us some present 
in return, he took some oranges out of a man's 
basket near at hand and handed them to us. 

" Those oranges are mine ! those oranges are mine !" 
vociferated a rough-looking customer, rushing forward 
to rescue his property. 

"Silence! silence!" shouted the lictors, flourish- 
ing their whips, and arresting the progress of the 
excited proprietor of the oranges. But the man 
refused to be satisfied. 

" The oranges are mine !" he continued to vocifer- 
ate, while his supple, eel-like gyrations of body 



MANDAEIN AND EUSTIC. 187 

seemed to defy the combined manipulations of the 
police. 

Thinking to settle the dispute, we proposed to 
return the oranges ; but this plan of compromise was 
totally inadmissible. 

" Silence ! silence !" shouted the lictors for the 
thousandth time, " the officer will pay you for your 
oranges." 

"Pay me now! pay me now!" screamed the 
shrewd rustic, well knowing that instant payment 
was his only hope. Scores of dirty hands forthwith 
plunged into scores of dirtier pockets, and after an 
energetic search among tobacco-boxes and other 
etceteras of a Chinaman's pockets, the combined pro- 
ceeds of the operation, amounting to a few tens of 
most villanous looking cash, were handed over to the 
man for his fruit. Thankful for our unexpected 
deliverance we resumed our trip, amused and 
instructed by the scene we had just witnessed. 

During the remainder of the day we continued 
slowly to ascend the river, occasionally landing for a 
short walk on shore. The scenery becomes more 
impressive and grand as we advance, and the chan- 
nel of the river gradually contracts, the water gener- 
ally flowing with a strong current over a pebbly or 
rocky bottom. The valley of the river becomes nar- 
row and circuitous, though the general direction as 
we ascend continues to be about northwest. The 
villages to-day are smaller and less numerous, and 
the population more sparse than yesterday. The 
people, though intensely anxious to examine our 
persons and clothes, behaved with great propriety, 



188 TEIP INTO THE COUNTKY. 

and treated us courteously. Our books were eagerly 
received, and a good degree of attention was paid to 
our statements concerning the doctrines of the 
Gospel. Walking along the shore toward sunset, we 
entered a most quiet and beautiful place. It was a 
small cove or recess, extending back from the river 
to the massive rocks forming the base of the mount- 
ain, whose summit rose, with a rapid ascent, to an 
elevation of perhaps fifteen hundred feet. A luxu- 
riant growth of fruit trees throws a dim religious light 
over this Arcadian scene. The overspreading foliage 
forms beautiful arbors, and the upright trunks, ar- 
ranged in parallel lines, seem to constitute long-drawn 
aisles in this stupendous and unique forest-temple. 
Coming abruptly round a rocky point, we found our- 
selves entering this almost enchanted spot, and im- 
pressed, awed by the solemnity of the scene, we 
instinctively removed our hats and stood bareheaded, 
and for some moments silent, beneath the boughs 
of tbfose stately trees. Tears have passed away since 
that hour, and yet the memory of that scene is as 
vivid and fresh as though it were but a day since I 
looked upon it. Beckoning to our boatmen to wait 
for us, we retired to the side of a high rock, and 
there reverently kneeling together we united in 
humble, fervent prayer. Eising from our knees, we 
paced for some minutes the aisles of this natural 
temple, and conversed of that glorious period when 
China, clothed and in her right mind, shall be found 
sitting at the feet of Jesus. Shortly after nightfall 
we anchored, unobserved, close under a high cliff 
that overhung the river. Our situation as we lay 



SUNRISE AMONG THE MOUNTAINS. 189 

there, in the deepening shades of evening, on the 
waters of that strange river, and in close proximity 
to a constant stream of native boats passing up and 
down, was well calculated to impress the mind and 
excite the emotions. "Weary as we were from the 
exertions and excitement of the day, it was well on 
toward midnight before we conld compose ourselves 
to sleep. 

Sunrise next morning disclosed to us a scene of 
rare beauty and splendor. Our boat lay in a bight 
of the river, which presented the appearance of a 
mountain lake. The shores were fringed with beau- 
tiful foliage; beyond, the mountain acclivities were 
adorned with fruit-orchards and pretty cottages, while 
upward and away rise successive ranges of grand old 
mountains. The effect of the sun's first rays on those 
dizzy peaks was singularly pleasing, as point after 
point received the golden light and, beaconlike, 
flashed up into the morning sky. We thought of 
Coleridge's "Hymn to the Sun" in the Yale of 
Chamouny, and could readily conceive the effect of 
that magnificent Alpine scenery on his exuberant 
imagination. 

We continued to ascend the river during this, the 
third day of our trip. The prominent features of. the 
scenery are similar to those described yesterday. 
Some of the mountains rise at least three 'thousand 
feet above the level of the river. The villages are 
small, and seem to rest on a very precarious founda- 
tion, perched on the precipitous sides of the mount- 
ains. As the population was apparently sparse, we 
walked for hours on the shore and were courteously 



190 TEIP INTO THE COUNTKY. 

treated by the people. Our boatmen', however, began 
to grow timid and suspicious as we advanced. Their 
excited imaginations filled every hamlet with thieves 
and outlaws, and transformed every pass or defile on 
the river into rendezvous for bloodthirsty pirates. 
Early in the afternoon we came in sight of Sui Keu, 
a town built at the foot of the rapids, about sixty 
miles from Fuhchau. At this place there is a gov- 
ernment officer, and all boats are closely examined. 
Having now ascended the river farther than we dared 
to anticipate at the commencement of our trip, and 
not having supplies for an extension of our excur- 
sion, we decided to terminate our upward voyage at 
this point. 

While making arrangements for descending the 
river, our attention was directed to a very high 
mountain on the left bank, and we determined to 
climb to its summit in order to obtain a view of the 
surrounding country. An unexpected difficulty met 
us at. the outset and well-nigh defeated the enterprise. 
ISTo one was able or willing to give us any assistance 
in ascending the mountain. The Chinese declared 
there was no path in that direction, and when we 
urged them to act as our guides they stared at us in 
blank amazement and shook their heads. 

" Why we have never been there !" they exclaimed ; 
" nobody dares to ascend that peak, and no amount 
of money could induce us to attempt it." 

Our prospect seemed sufficiently discouraging, but 
we resolved to start alone and go as far as we could. 
Noticing a wood-cutter's path leading in the desired 
direction, we at once struck into it and commenced 



CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN. 191 

the ascent. Our task was more difficult than we had 
expected. The path was both steep and slippery, 
and at times it seemed almost impossible for us to 
advance. Still we pressed forward, and after- half 
an hour's exertion found ourselves on the summit of 
the first spur of the mountain. Here our path left 
us, turning quite away from our course. While de- 
liberating as to our farther advance, the sound of a 
woodman's ax fell on our ear, and off we started in 
that direction to seek for a guide, or at least for in- 
formation. Making our way over rocks and through 
a dense, tangled undergrowth, we finally came upon 
the wood-choppers. The first one we came to was an 
old man, and it would be utterly impossible to de- 
scribe the look of wild amazement with which he 
gazed at us as we came splurging through the fern 
and bushes. There he stood with uplifted ax, ap- 
parently unable to move or speak. We addressed 
him with the usual Chinese compliments, and pro- 
ceeded to state the occasion of our abrupt appearance 
in such a place. 

" Why, you speak our language !" was the first ex- 
clamation that burst from his lips. 

" Yes," we replied, " we have been studying it for 
a year." 

" And where are you from ?" he continued, looking 
as though he fancied we must have dropped from the 
clouds. 

" From Fuhchau," we replied. 

" Come ! come !" he shouted to one of his com- 
panions at a little distance from him ; " come quickly 
and see the foreigners !" 



192 TRIP INTO THE COUNTRY. 

" Will you not show us the way to the top of the 
mountain ?" we inquired. 

"Never was there in my life," he replied; and 
neither persuasion nor money could induce him or 
his companion to go with us. We then determined 
to make another effort with our own resources. 
" Aim for the clearing directly ahead, and avoid the 
precipice on the left," were the parting words of the 
wood-choppers as we left them to resume our ascent. 
Emerging from the forest, we came to the clearing 
referred to, and then proceeded in a direct line to- 
ward the summit. Our course brought us along the 
edge of precipices, and over sharp peaks where the 
head would grow dizzy, and I was compelled, in 
self-defense, to shut my eyes and feel my way along 
in the wake of my stronger nerved friend. After an 
hour's exhausting labor we reached the summit, and 
never shall I forget the scene that there opened before 
us. ' Far as the eye could sweep in all directions it 
resembled the pictures of an Arctic sea, with mount- 
ains like icebergs swelling or splintering up every- 
where. The clouds were floating round us, and just 
to the south of us there stood a majestic mountain 
whose sides at our altitude were wrapt in clouds, and 
whose summit, bathed in a soft sunlight, seemed to be 
nearly as far above us as we were above the river 
which flowed at our feet. Descending the mountain, 
we commenced our return trip, and next day arrived 
safely at Fuhchau. 






NATIVE LECTURERS. 193 



CHAPTER XII. 

PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 

The first and great effort of the missionary, on 
reaching his field of labor in China is to acquire, as 
rapidly and perfectly as possible, the power to com- 
municate orally with the people. The possession of 
this power places him at once on high vantage 
ground with reference to the native population. It 
goes far toward shielding him from the impositions 
which natives are so ready to practice upon foreign- 
ers, gives him free access to the people, and invests 
him with a prestige and influence which prove inval- 
uable to him in the prosecution of his work. The 
Chinese are fond of listening to public discourse. 
One everywhere meets with restaurants, in connection 
with which you almost invariably find the public 
audience room, where the lecturer holds forth to the 
people on topics of popular interest. This custom 
supplied at once the precedent and type for the 
Christian congregation and pulpit, and we proceeded 
immediately to avail ourselves of the suggestion. 
Our first chapels were ordinary Chinese houses, 
which, by a little scrubbing, painting, joinery, and 
efforts at improved lighting and ventilation, were, 
after a fashion, adapted to our purposes. 

13 



194 PEEACHING AND CHUECHES. 

Soon after its organization in 1847, the mission 
recommended to the Board of Managers at New 
York the erection of a substantial church edifice in 
Fuhchau. The board cordially approved the sug- 
gestion, and the Methodist Churches of New York, 
Brooklyn, and Williamsburgh generously contributed 
the sum of five thousand dollars for the accomplish- 
ment of the desired object. The mission succeeded 
in purchasing a plat of land on one of the chief 
thoroughfares of the city outside the walls, and there, 
toward the close of 1855, began to lay the foundations 
of a solid Christian church building. The erection 
of this structure constitutes an era in the history of 
the mission. The event convinced the Chinese that 
we expected to remain permanently in Fuhchau, that 
we believed the Gospel would triumph over all oppo- 
sition in that city, and that consequently the men- 
dacious slanders of their ofiicers against us, to the 
effect that we were to be tolerated at Fuhchau only 
for a brief period, and that the Gospel could never 
enter China, were utterly without foundation. The 
blessing of God was promptly vouchsafed to the en- 
terprise ; for scarcely had we completed this edifice 
of brick and stone, when the Holy Spirit began to 
furnish " living stones " for the spiritual temple of the 
Almighty in Fuhchau. The accompanying drawing 
will give some idea of this interesting building. 

The position of this church is admirable. It stands 
on the main street leading to the south gate of the 
city. Within a few steps of it is a very large tea- 
pavilion, or restaurant, where travelers stop for re- 
freshment. On one side of the church, distant per- 



IONGTAU CHURCH. 197 

haps three quarters of a mile, lies the city within the 
wall, containing a population of about four hundred 
thousand. On the other side of the church, and at 
about the same distance, lies the immense southern 
suburb of the city, stretching to and beyond the 
river, and containing a population of about three 
hundred thousand. The only direct communication 
between this vast suburb and the city within the wall, 
is by the street which passes in front of our church. 
From morning till night this street is thronged with 
people, and by simply opening our church doors we 
can usually obtain a congregation at any hour of 
the day. 

The building is of a very substantial character. 
The foundation is of stone, and is raised live feet, to 
avoid the annual flood that submerges the greater 
part of Fuhchau. Upon this solid foundation the 
edifice rests. It measures thirty-eight feet wide 
by seventy-six deep, and has twenty feet between 
the floor and the ceiling. The building contains a 
vestibule, measuring ten feet deep by thirty-four 
wide, in the clear ; an audience-room, forty-seven feet 
by thirty-four, with twenty feet height of ceiling; 
and (back of the audience-room) four rooms, two 
on the lower floor, measuring respectively twenty- 
one feet by twelve, and thirteen feet by twelve; 
and two on the second floor of similar dimensions. 
The ceiling of the lower rooms is twelve feet high, 
and of the upper rooms it is ten feet high. The walls 
are of brick, the outer walls being two feet thick, 
the inner one eighteen inches. The side and rear 
walls are built of common brick, and plastered white 



198 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 

inside and gray outside. The front is built with 
handsome red brick, neatly painted and whitelined. 
Each side of the building has six high windows, meas- 
uring in the clear ten feet by four feet four inches. 
Of these windows two open into the vestibule, (one 
on each side,) eight open into the audience-room, 
(four on each side,) and two open into the rear lower 
rooms. The upper rooms are lighted by two smaller 
windows in the sides, directly over the large ones in 
the lower rooms, and by two windows in the rear of 
the building. 

The front of the building presents an imposing ap- 
pearance. As the floor of the church is five feet 
above the street, it was necessary for us to provide a 
flight of steps for entering the church, and thus the 
front wall of the building was placed back eight feet 
from the street, making a pretty court between the 
street and tjie church. In order to make the street 
front as wide as possible, we built on each side, from 
the corner of the church front to the street, a wall 
flaring outward six feet, thus making the street front 
fifty feet, whereas the church front is only thirty-eight 
feet wide. For the present we have put up a neat 
wooden railing, ten feet high, on the street front, in 
the middle of which is a gateway eight feet wide, op- 
posite to the flight of steps by which you ascend to 
the entrance of the church. This little court we have 
sodded on each side of the stone steps, and its green- 
sward adds much to the beauty of the building. 

There is only one opening in the front wall of 
the church. This is the door-way, measuring eight 
feet wide and eleven high. The door-jams flare out- 



DESCRIPTION OF CHURCH. 199 

ward, and are faced by a pilaster on each side. On 
these two pilasters rests a pretty wooden facade or 
entablature, spanning the door-way, and painted 
white. On each side of this door- way are two large 
pilasters rising from the stone foundation and reach- 
ing an elevation of twenty feet. These four pilasters 
also are built of the red brick which compose the 
entire front surface of the wall ; they project about 
two inches from the wall, and measure three and a 
half feet at the base. The brick work rises only to 
the top of the pilasters ; above this point there is a 
wooden facade or entablature similar in design (but 
of course on a larger scale) to the one over the door- 
way. It also is painted white. This facade conceals 
the gable of the roof, and rises a foot above the comb 
of the roof. A pretty cupola, about thirteen feet 
high, rises from the front part of the roof, and in it 
we have placed our bell, which was cast to our order 
in the city of Fuhchau. The bell is suspended 
from the ceiling of the cupola, and is rung by pull- 
ing quickly against the outer rim a wooden billet 
suspended by ropes. The bell weighs three hundred 
and thirty-three and a half pounds, and, with the 
hangings, cost twenty-four and a half dollars. The 
tone of the bell is soft and pleasing. The sound, 
however, is not loud, and it cannot be heard beyond 
a very limited circle. 

The audience room is neatly fitted up with pulpit, 
altar, and seats, and will contain about three hund- 
red persons at one time. The seats and the entire 
interior woodwork of the building are of a mahog- 
any color ; the exterior woodwork, except the cupola 



200 PEEACHING AND CHUECHES. 

and part of the front, is of the same color. There 
are two aisles, each three and a half feet wide, and 
communicating with the vestibule by two doors each 
four feet four inches wide by nine feet high. The 
vestibule is paved with stone, the audience-room is 
floored with plank two inches thick, and the rear 
rooms with plank one and a half inch thick. 

The accompanying drawing presents the interior 
of the church at Iongtau. 

We have named the church " Ching Sing Tong," 
that is, "Church of the True God." A tablet of 
handsome porphyry, four by one and a half feet, 
is inserted perpendicularly in the wall, just over the 
front door-way, and on it are carved the three 
Chinese characters representing the name of the 
church. The letters are gilded, and being large 
they present a fine appearance, and are read 
daily by thousands of Chinese who pass along the 
street. 

The entire cost of the church, including price of 
land, four hundred dollars, and cost of walling it in, 
two hundred and eighty dollars, is under two thou- 
sand six hundred dollars. 

The church was dedicated on Sunday, August 3, 
1856, the exercises commencing about a quarter past 
nine o'clock A. M. The church was filled with an 
orderly and attentive congregation of Chinese. All 
the teachers, scholars, and servants connected with 
the three missions in this city were present. We 
were also favored with the presence of Revs. C. C. 
Baldwin, J. Doolittle, and C. Hartwell, of the Amer- 
ican Board Mission: and of Rev. Mr. M'Caw and 




Interior of the Church at longtau. 



PEEACHING. 203 

Bev. Mr. Fearnley of the Church of England Mis- 
sion. We were also gratified to notice several mem- 
bers of the foreign mercantile community present on 
the occasion. 

In the chapel at Iongtau the congregations are 
of a floating, miscellaneous character. The doors of 
the chapel are thrown open as an invitation to come 
in, and generally the room is soon filled with people. 
The smith comes from his anvil, the tradesman from 
his shop, the cake-vender enters boldly with his tray 
on his head, the rustic marches up the aisle with his 
poultry on his shoulders, the cooly lays down his bur- 
den at the door, and all take their positions, either 
sitting or standing, to hear what the foreigner has 
to say. 

The preacher commences, and perhaps his first 
sentence elicits from some one of his auditors a rather 
loudly expressed approval or dissent. Disregarding, 
or, perhaps, hurriedly chiding the objector, the 
speaker goes on with his remarks. Presently one or 
more spring to their feet and move to another part 
of the chapel, or, muttering some words, (usually not 
very complimentary to the speaker,) retire from the 
congregation. While this winnowing process is go- 
ing on the preacher continues his discourse, and 
sometimes is gratified to observe that a goodly num- 
ber are sitting quietly and listening attentively to 
what he is saying. Encouraged by this attention, the 
preacher grows more anxious to impart to them a 
knowledge of "the truth as it is in Jesus;" his enun- 
ciation, at first faltering, becomes more distinct and 
confident, his manner waxes more earnest, one and 



204 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 

another of his restless auditors become quiet, the 
idlers about the door gradually draw toward the pul- 
pit, and, amid general stillness and attention on the 
part of the congregation, the preacher closes his dis- 
course, feeling in his heart that it is blessed to sow 
beside even these waters; and that "he that goeth 
forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall 
doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his 
sheaves with him." 

Dr. Went worth writes : " It is exceedingly trying 
to be in the midst of a heathen people, and see them 
going on in the practice of all manner of supersti- 
tions, without being able to tell them fully the folly 
of their courses. If we begin, the newly acquired 
words and accents halt and falter upon our foreign 
tongues, and provoke derision rather than produce 
conviction or turn attention to the truth. At our 
August mission meeting we resolved to keep our 
chapels open every day, and, ' preach or no preach,' 
to g© to the pulpits, and from thence distribute books 
and make the best effort we could to talk to the peo- 
ple of ' Jesus and the resurrection.' In accordance 
with this resolve I repaired, on the afternoon of the 
first of September, to our little wayside synagogue at 
Chong Seng, with something like the trepidation I 
used to feel in approaching a school-house congrega- 
tion in the days of my exhortership. The door was 
shut and the sexton ' gone to dinner.' I placed my 
back against the outer gates of the chapel, and a 
crowd instantly gathered, choking up the narrow 
street and impeding all passage. ' Are you going to 
preach V ' Are you going to preach V was the cry 



FIEST CHINESE SERMON. 205 

from all quarters. ' Not much ; I do not understand 
enough of the language to make a regular sermon.' 
And then followed the usual shower of questions sug- 
gested by the curiosity and allowed by the imperti- 
nent and tiresome courtesy of this inquisitive people : 
'How old are you?' 'How long have you been 
here V ' Where do you live V ' Are you American or 
English V ' Do you come here to buy tea V and the 
like. 

"One offered me fruit; another, tobacco and a 
a pipe; another, a couple of papers of the vile 
betel-nut to chew; another, a stool to sit upon; 
another, to break open the door; another, to go 
for the sexton There was no end to their kind- 
ness. Among others a young man living near 
our new church paused to ask me if I 'had 
been to dinner,' the Chinese 'How do you do?' I 
told him I was glad to see him so decently dressed 
and looking so well. The last time I saw him, some 
weeks since, his clothes hung about him in filthy and 
disgusting tatters, and his countenance wore the 
ghastly hue and expression of the confirmed opium- 
smoker. He replied : ' I had no money ; I dress well 
when I can get the means.' I told him I fancied he 
smoked opium and was idle. The crowd said, ' Yes, 
he smokes opium, and is idle.' He denied it vigor- 
ously. I told him if he worked he would get means, 
and if he had means he could clothe himself well, if 
he did not squander his earnings in a fatal indul- 
gence. This was my first sermon in Chinese. My 
auditor bade me ' sit quietly,' the Chinese ' good-by,' 
(I was standing withal,) and went his way. 



206 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 

Gratified and encouraged by the successful comple- 
tion of our church edifice at Iongtau, the mission 
next proceeded to purchase an eligible site for a 
church in the ward in which the majority of our 
houses are situated, the situation being just in front 
of the lot I occupy. When we purchased this lot it 
was not our intention to proceed at once to erect 
upon it a church edifice, though we all felt the im- 
portance of having such a building at the earliest pos- 
sible date. In conversation, however, with some of 
the foreign residents at this port, it was proposed that 
our mission erect on this lot a church edifice con- 
taining two audience rooms, one being for Chinese, 
the other for English worship. In view of the in- 
creasing foreign community in this city, it was felt to 
be important to provide at once a place for public re- 
ligious worship in the English language, and our 
mercantile friends offered to place at the service of 
our mission one thousand dollars to aid in erecting 
the building. Under these circumstances we decided 
to erect the church, availing ourselves of the sub- 
scription tendered to us by the foreign community in 
Euhchau, which in the end amounted to the hand- 
some sum of thirteen hundred dollars. 

The Chinese portion of this church edifice in the 
Tienang (that is, Heavenly-rest) ward, was dedi- 
cated to the worship and service of God on Sunday, 
October 18, 1856. The Kev. Messrs. Peet, Doo- 
little, and Hartwell, of the American Board Mission 
in this city, united with us in conducting the serv- 
ices. The building is a neat and substantial struc- 




English and Chinese Church at Tienang. 



TIENANG CHURCH. 209 

ture of brick, resting on a stone foundation. The 
outer face of the walls is of red brick, lined with 
white. A very pretty wooden finish, painted white, 
runs round the entire building, underneath the 
eaves of the roof, and imparts to it a fine ap- 
pearance. 

The interior of the audience-room is twenty-five 
feet by thirty-four, height of ceiling twenty feet. A 
vestibule eight feet deep extends across the front 
of the building, faced by four wooden columns, fluted 
and painted white. The windows are ten feet high 
by four and a half wide. 

The pulpit, altar, and seats are of hard wood, var- 
nished. An aisle three feet wide passes up the 
middle of the audience-room. The building stands 
immediately in front of the premises I occupy, and 
abuts on our new road leading from the street to the 
foreign residences on the hill. The situation is quiet 
and accessible. 

We regard this as our normal church. In it we 
conduct public religious worship in a formal manner, 
thus furnishing to this people at once a model for 
worship, and an answer to their ever-iterated inter- 
rogatory, " How do you worship Jesus ?" We hold 
public religious service in this church every Sunday 
morning at nine o'clock, and we hope to be able, be- 
fore a great while, to have two services in it on 
Sunday. 

On Sunday, the 28th'of December, 1856, we dedi- 
cated the English portion of our Tienang church 
edifice. The services on the occasion were conducted 
by the Eev. Dr. Wentworth, who delivered, from 

14 



210 PKEACHING- AND CHUKCHES. 

1 Kings ix, 3, a most appropriate and able discourse 
to a highly gratified audience. This church is de- 
signed for public worship in the English language. 
The foreign community here have very generously 
aided in its erection, and we devoutly pray that 
it may prove to be a perpetual blessing to them. 
It is the first Christian church ever erected in this 
ancient city for the worship of God in the English 
language. It , is opened twice every Sunday for 
public worship, and we transferred to it the En- 
glish Sunday service we had hitherto held in private 
houses. 

We cannot be sufficiently grateful to God for 
bringing us into the possession of these beautiful 
churches. It would be difficult, indeed, to exagger- 
ate the importance of these sacred edifices in con- 
nection with our work. The church at Iongtau 
fully meets our expectations, and we believe that the 
Tienang church also will be an invaluable acquisition 
to our mission. For myself, I cannot express the 
solid satisfaction these churches afford me. After 
years of desultory and wearing toil in the alleys, dark 
rooms, waysides, and places of public resort in this 
city, I feel it a glorious privilege now to stand up in 
these noble buildings, and tell to these erring heathen 
the story of the cross. I feel, indeed, as if our mis- 
sion had only commenced efficiently to deliver its 
message to this people. Not that I believe we, as a 
mission, have been derelict as to our duty in the 
past. I am satisfied that, according to our ability 
and opportunities, we have from the first borne a 
faithful and unfaltering testimony against the sins of 



INFLUENCE OF THE CHURCH. 211 

this people. But when I compare our past disadvan- 
tages with our present facilities for making known 
the truth as it is in Jesus, I cannot repress the jubi- 
lant feelings excited by the contrast. I fancy at 
times that the light, the long expected, blessed light, 
is now breaking upon this dark land. I find my 
heart thrilling with emotions which indicate victory 
rather than stern, protracted conflict. I am not sin- 
gular in this experience; it is participated in by 
every member of the mission. We all breathe more 
freely, and tread with a firmer step to the solemn 
music of our life-labor, as we look on these sacred 
structures. 

The annual report for 1857 says : " We continue 
to make the public preaching of the Gospel our dis- 
tinguishing work ; and in this department of our 
labors we have derived incalculable advantage and 
comfort from the noble church edifices which the 
liberality of the friends of missions at home enabled 
us to erect the previous year. Our congregations in 
them have been uniformly orderly and respectful. 
Not one instance of disorderly conduct has occurred 
in these congregations during the year. We note 
this fact as furnishing ground for great encourage- 
ment. What people are induced to respect, we may 
suppose they will finally imitate ; and we are con- 
vinced that these orderly religious exercises are doing 
much to prepare the way for the general introduction 
of Christianity in Fuhchau. The seed, we- believe, 
is now falling into good soil, and we are earnestly 
praying and looking for the glorious harvest. We 
have three public services every Sunday in these 



212 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 

churches, and generally two other services during 
the week." 

On Sunday, July 14, 1857, we baptized our first 
convert in connection with our mission. The con- 
vert's name is Ting Ang. He was forty-seven years 
of age, and had a wife and five children. His home 
was within a few minutes' walk of the viceroy's 
palace in the city of Fuhchau. He stated that 
about two years before his conversion he began 
to drop in at our Iongtau chapel to hear what the 
foreigner had to say. This happened as he was 
passing in and out of the city on business, and it 
seems that he was interested in what he heard. He 
obtained some of our books, and perused them. Sub- 
sequently he began to call in at our boys' day-school 
in the ward where we live, and not long afterward 
the teacher of the boys' school brought him to our 
Sunday morning service in the Tienang church. 
This was our first acquaintance with the man, and 
we at once invited him to attend the weekly inquiry 
meeting which we had just established on Friday 
afternoon. He continued to attend the inquiry 
meeting, and we were much pleased with his de- 
portment. He was not familiar with the written 
character, and could not read very well, but he at 
once commenced the Commandments and Apostles' 
Creed, and soon he was able to read and explain 
them quite correctly. "We instructed him carefully 
in the doctrines of Christianity, and he expressed his 
fixed purpose to live according to its principles. He 
commenced private and family prayer, and frequently 
spoke of the delight he felt in the service of God. 



OUR FIRST COVERT. 213 

One day Brother Gibson and I called to see him at 
his honse. Our visit was unexpected to him, but he 
received us very cordially. On entering the house 
we were pleased to notice on the table a number of 
Christian books, which, it was evident, he had been 
reading. We looked in vain for any traces of idol- 
atry, and we felt thankful that from at least one house 
in this city the idols had been cast out. Some six 
weeks before our visit the man had brought out and 
given to us all his household gods, and one object of 
the present call was to ascertain whether he had 
really cast away his idols. Our examination fully 
satisfied Brother Gibson and myself on this point. 
We conversed with his family, and found that they 
understood and approved of the course he intended 
to pursue. After conversing some time I read a part 
of the fifth chapter of Matthew's Gospel, and prayed 
with them. It was not without emotion that I thus 
offered prayer, for the first time, in a Chinese house 
within the walls of this proud city, and that, too, 
almost under the shadow of the viceroy's palace. 
The man continued to attend our meeting, gave us 
every evidence of a sincere determination to lead a 
Christian life, and after a rigid examination our mis- 
sion decided that he was, in our judgment, a proper 
subject for baptism. The ordinance was administered 
in the Tienang church, in the presence of the con- 
gregation, at the afternoon service. After suitable 
introductory remarks, explanatory of the nature both 
of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, the candidate was 
requested to stand Up and repeat, in an audible voice, 
the Commandments and Baptismal Covenant. I then 



214 PKEACHING AND CHUKCHES. 

explained them, sentence by sentence, the candidate 
audibly expressing his cordial belief in them, and 
his determination faithfully to keep and obey them. 
I then proceed to baptize him, sprinkling the water 
on his head while he kneeled at the altar. After his 
baptism he united in the celebration of the Lord's 
Supper with the members of our mission, and the 
Rev. Mr. M'Caw, of the Church of England mission, 
who was present on the occasion. 

Since his baptism the convert has given us great 
satisfaction by his meek, confiding spirit, and his 
consistent conduct. We cannot but feel that his 
heart has been changed by the Holy Spirit, and that 
he is indeed a new creature. We would earnestly 
solicit for this our Chinese brother an interest in the 
prayers of God's people. 

On the 18th of October, 1857, the wife of Brother 
Ting Ang and two of their younger children were ad- 
mitted to the ordinance of baptism. About the same 
time Brother Ting Tag ICo, the Fuhchau youth whom 
the Rev. Mr. Colder took to America and educated for 
some years, returned to Fuhchau, and having pre- 
sented his certificate of church-membership, given 
him by Mr. Colder, we judged it proper to receive 
him, and he accordingly became a member of our 
infant Church. The annual report of the Mission for 
1858 states: 

"We would refer with profound gratitude to the 
outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon this people which 
we have witnessed in connection with our labors 
during the past year. Since the date of our last 
annual report we have baptized thirteen adults and 



CONVERTS. 215 

three infants. All the adults remain with us in 
Church fellowship, and give encouraging evidence 
that they have indeed become the children of God 
through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. On the 
seventh of August, 1858, we organized our first class 
of Chinese converts in this city. The class is attached 
to the Iongtau appointment, and now has fifteen 
members. Rev. Otis Gibson takes charge of the 
class for the present, with Brother Hu Po Mi as 
assistant leader. Three stewards were appointed, of 
whom two are Chinese. Arrangements were made 
for class-meetings, quarterly meetings, monthly col- 
lections for the poor, and quarterly collections for the 
support of the Gospel. A Sunday-school was organ- 
ized for the children of Church members and others. 
The school is conducted by our native members, and 
at the present time contains seven pupils. 

"Brief notices of some of our converts may per- 
haps be interesting to the friends of the China mis- 
sion. I note them in the order of baptism : 

" 1. Hu Po Mi, aged 31. He has a good common 
education, is a soldier by profession, has taken the 
lowest military degree, and is entitled to hold office 
in the army. Baptized January 17, 1858, he has 
given us much satisfaction by his humility, zeal, 
courage, and desire for a thorough knowledge of the 
Bible. He is a fluent speaker, and has rendered us 
efficient aid in the public preaching of the Gospel. 
His wife also has been baptized and received into the 
Church. 

" 2. Ngu Teng Hai, aged 37. He is a scribe by 
profession, and has been connected with missionaries 



216 PKEACHING AND CHUKCHES. 

three or four years. His education is respectable, 
and he possesses some ability as a public speaker. 
He was baptized March 21, 1858, and renders us 
important help in public preaching. His mother, 
aged sixty-nine years, has also been baptized and 
received into the Church. 

" 3. Wong Cheng Kuong, aged 50. He is a com- 
mon day laborer, but has sufficient knowledge of the 
written character to enable him, with a little study, 
to read our books* He was baptized March 21, 1858, 
and exhibits good evidence of the genuineness of his 
conversion. 

" 4. Hu JVgieng Seu, aged 57. He is the father of 
Hu Po Mi, is a man of more than ordinary talent, 
has a common education, and has filled some inferior 
offices in the government service. He has attended 
our preaching for nine years, and has treated us with 
uniform courtesy. During the past four years he 
became more frequent and regular in his attendance 
on our preaching. It was evident the Holy Spirit 
was striving with him, and many prayers were offered 
for him. About a year ago his eldest son became 
interested in Christianity, and the father encouraged 
him, saying : ' Go forward, and I will follow.' May 
9, 1858, he, together with his wife and two younger 
sons, was admitted to baptism. 

" 5. Wong Tai Hang, aged 35. He belongs to the 
literary class, and is our first convert from this influ- 
ential body. He has been connected with the mis- 
sionaries nearly eleven years as a teacher, first, of the 
Rev. J. D. Collins, of our mission ; then, and for a 
much longer time, oi the Rev. J. Doolittle, of the 



CHARACTER OF THE REVIVAL. 217 

American Board Mission in Fuhchau. During all 
these years he had the respect and confidence of all 
who knew him, though he remained a proud and 
persistent idolator. It seemed as though nothing 
could subdue the pride of his heart. Even after his 
mind opened to receive, one by one, the cardinal 
truths of Christianity, his pride still seemed to present 
an insuperable barrier to his conversion. But grace 
triumphed at last ; his proud heart yielded, and after 
counting the cost he publicly announced his purpose 
to become a Christian, and on September 10, 1858, he 
was baptized and received into the Church. 

"It may be profitable to notice more particularly 
this work of grace. We select a few points for brief 
reference : 

" 1. The outpouring of the Spirit was preceded by 
months of the most pointed and earnest preaching 
we could bring to bear upon our public congrega- 
tions, accompanied by the most direct and perse- 
vering exhortations in private. The work seemed to 
commence in the hearts of the missionaries, the Holy 
Ghost filling them with great searchings of heart and 
with intense yearnings for the salvation of this people. 

" 2. The work, in its inception and progress, was 
unaccompanied by any extraordinary manifestations. 
So gradually and quietly has it gone forward, that at 
times we fancied it had ceased, and were gratefully 
surprised when new inquirers came to us seeking 
religious instruction and advice. 

" 3. We think it a noteworthy fact that so large a 
proportion of the converts are of mature years, while 
some are even in advanced acre. There are those 



218 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 

who affect to consider the conversion of aged and 
adult heathen as impracticable, if not impossible. 
"We have cherished the opposite belief, and have 
received according to our faith. 

" 4=. The growth of the converts in Christian knowl- 
edge and grace has been very gratifying. So marked 
in many cases has this been, that the converts refer 
to it with astonishment. "Whether we kept the can- 
didates on a long course of training, or, as in one or 
two cases, admitted them into the Church after a 
shorter trial, the result is the same. We think it 
would be difficult to find converts who surpass those 
of our mission in their desire for a thorough knowl- 
edge of the blessed Bible. This has greatly encour- 
aged US. 4 

"5. Another trait in the character of our converts 
is their boldness in confessing Christ before the world. 
This, under G-od, we attribute partly to the character 
of the Fuhchau Chinese, who all seem to be naturally 
eloquent, but mainly to our system of training. Our 
entire operations are public, our inquiries are public, 
our baptisms are public, and we aim at training every 
one of the converts to do something toward the 
spread of the Gospel." 

The Eeport for 1860 says : 

" The principal facts of our operations during the 
year may be presented very briefly. "We have seven 
appointments in our regular work. During the year 
we have baptized thirty-eight adults, and nine in- 
fants; total, forty-seven. Three probationers have 
been dropped, and one Church member has died in 
the faith. Our native membership, including proba- 



REGULAR APPOINTMENTS. 219 

tioners, is forty-nine, showing an increase of thirty- 
six during the year. In our mission class there are 
seven members (wives of missionaries and teachers 
in our girl's school) whose names are not elsewhere 
reported in the statistics of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and hence we have deemed it proper to 
report them in this connection. This gives us fifty- 
six as the membership of this mission at this date. 

" Appointments in the regular work : 

"1. Iongtau. — This appointment is on an import- 
ant thoroughfare a short distance outside the south 
gate of the city. We have an excellent church edi- 
fice at this point, the first building of the kind ever 
erected in this city, and worth to us $2,500. The 
class at this appointment contains eighteen members, 
all of whom seem to be sincerely trying to ' follow the 
Lamb whithersoever he goeth.' One of the brethren 
is a licensed exhorter in the service of the mission, 
and gives himself to the work of preaching the Gos- 
pel. Two others are much exercised in mind with 
reference to engaging in the same blessed work ; and 
during the year, after working in their shops all the 
secular days of the week, they have devoted their 
Sundays to preaching the word both in the city and 
in the country villages. There is a Sunday-school 
connected with this appointment, and it has been at- 
tended by the adult membership as well as by their 
children. 

" 2. Tienang. — This appointment is in the ward 
where our mission compound is situated. It has an 
excellent church edifice, and a class of nine members. 
This class has been organized during the past year, 



220 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 

and is doing as well perhaps as could be expected. 
All the members give good evidence of the genuineness 
of their conversion to Christianity, and appear to be 
making encouraging progress in the knowledge and 
practice of the Gospel. One of the members of this 
class, a licensed exhorter in the Church, died Sep- 
tember 21, 1859. His end was very peaceful and 
satisfactory. He had been one of our most laborious 
and efficient helpers, and his death is a heavy stroke 
upon us. We are hoping to organize a Sunday-school 
at this appointment. 

" 3. City. — This appointment is in the western 
part of the city, within the wall. One of our mem- 
bers lived there, and through his influence we rented 
a small building for a chapel. The front part of the 
house we use as a chapel, and the rear portion is oc- 
cupied by the family in charge of the premises. We 
have not ventured to change the form of the house, 
and our services are conducted in a quiet way, so as 
not to excite the apprehensions of the people of the 
neighborhood. Thus far we have not had any diffi- 
culty in visiting the place and holding our meetings. 
The room is usually filled whenever we preach there, 
and the people seem interested in our message to 
them. We have not yet organized a class at this ap- 
pointment, but shall do so as soon as possible. We 
consider the appointment a very important one, and 
look to it with great interest as the commencement 
of a glorious work in this proud heathen city. 

"4. Ato. — This is another appointment that has 
come under our care during the past year. It is in a 
populous suburb of this city, and is situated about 



REGULAR APPOINTMENTS. 221 

half a mile southeast from our mission compound. 
The place had been for some years under the care of 
our brethren of the American Board mission here. 
They built a neat little chapel, and kept up regular 
preaching in it. These brethren are now concentra- 
ting their mission on the northern bank of the Min, 
and accordingly transferred this chapel to our mis- 
sion. "We hope to occupy efficiently, and look for 
God's blessing on our labors. The chapel is worth 
$275. Annual ground rent, $18. 

" 5. Kuaninchang. — (Goddess of Mercy's Well.) 
This appointment also has been transferred to our 
mission during the past year by our brethren of the 
American Board mission. It is a small chapel quite 
close to our mission compound, and is useful as a 
place for meeting the people and distributing books. 
The building is worth about $60. Annual ground 
rent, $10. 

" 6. To-cheng. — (Peach Farm.) This is our first 
country appointment, and has a class of thirteen 
members. Our meetings at this place have been 
held in a private house, and we are much encour- 
aged by the deportment of all who have united with 
us here in Church-fellowship. The neighborhood in 
which this appointment is located is sparsely inhab- 
ited, and yet if the good work spreads among the 
people we could soon have a large congregation at 
this place. We are laboring and praying in faith 
for the accomplishment of this object." 

The expansion of our work into the country west- 
ward from Fuhchau, constitutes an important and 
auspicious era in the history of our mission in China. 



222 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 

The success of the Gospel among the more ingenuous 
rustics in country towns and hamlets gave a most 
opportune and powerful impetus to our faith and 
zeal. It furnished, also, to the Chinese a striking 
illustration of the Gospel's power, and a most intel- 
ligible indication of our plans and expectations as 
missionaries among them. The village in which the 
Ngu-kang parsonage is situated is perhaps twelve 
miles west of Fuhchau. 

The accompanying cut represents the residence 
of the first native Methodist circuit preacher sent 
forth in China. The ends and back are built of 
pounded mud, the front of boards and plaster. It 
has no floors but the bare ground. The left hand 
door opens into a room probably ten by fifteen 
feet, where we have often slept on a few raised 
boards with a billet of wood for a pillow. The center 
room, the grand reception hall, or guest room, of 
every Chinese house, is about twenty feet square, 
with a dirt floor, and once furnished with a high 
altar and huge pictures of grim household gods; 
it is now hung around with large sheets, or charts, 
containing the Ten Commandments, and extracts 
from the Old and New Testaments. Here we assem- 
ble every Sunday at two o'clock for service — preach- 
ing and class-meeting; and here, every evening in 
the week, our new circuit preacher catechises and 
teaches the poor ignorant natives the Scriptures of 
divine truth. You must not imagine that our 
preacher has all this grand house to himself. He 
has only one room, entering by the right hand door 
of the house, and over it is a low, smoky loft, which 



pp i 

HP, 

an 




MISSIONARY FORCE. 225 

we intend to paper or whitewash, and furnish with a 
bedstead, chair, and table for our own convenience 
hereafter. At the right is the cook-shed, always full 
of choking, blinding smoke, as the Chinese seem to 
prefer sore eyes to chimneys. "We have had some 
pleasant times in the Ngu-kang parsonage, and 
hope it may be one of the centers from which light 
and truth shall radiate far and near upon the minds 
of this dark people. 

The Annual Report for this mission, dated Sep- 
tember 30, 1860, and prepared by the Rev. Dr. 
Wentworth, makes the following showing : 

MISSIONARIES. 

Revs. Robert S. Maclay, Superintendent, Erastus 
Wentworth, D.D., Otis Gibson, Stephen L. Baldwin, 
Carlos R. Martin, Nathan Sites. 

ASSISTANT MISSIONARIES. 

Mrs. Henrietta C, Maclay, Mrs. Phebe E. Went- 
worth, Mrs. Eliza C. Gibson, Mrs. Nellie M. Bald- 
win, Mrs. Mary E. Martin, Mrs. Sites, Miss 

JSeulah "Woolston, Miss Sallie H. Woolston. 

NATIVE HELPERS. 

Hu Po Mi, exhorter, and teacher of girls' school. 

Uong Tai Kung, exhorter, and teapher of boys' 
school. 

Uong Kiu Taik, exhorter, stationed at Pavilion 
Church. 

Hu long Mi, exhorter, stationed at Ngu-kang. 

Tang leu Kong, exhorter, stationed in the city. 

Ting Seng Mi, exhorter, stationed at Ato Qhapel. 
15 



226 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 

PREMISES. 

Our mission will soon have six substantial and 
comfortable dwelling-houses and a church in the 
same general inclosure or "compound," bounded on 
the south by the open country, across which we get 
the sea-breezes ; east and west by the foreign commu- 
nity, and north by the city and suburbs of Fuhchau, 
with its living masses of idolaters. It seems quite 
providential that our mission secured so reasonably 
such valuable premises, as it is now next to impos- 
sible to get building lots here on any terms. 

APPOINTMENTS. 

The " Church of the True God," at the Tea Pavil- 
ion, has been opened for preaching every Sabbath, 
and nearly every day in the year. Extra meetings 
were held at ISTew Year's, and during the cool 
weather evening services were kept up quite regu- 
larly. Class number one meets here every Sun- 
day after the morning service, and consists of sixteen 
members, one of whom, an old man, " died in peace" 
on the 15th of August last. 

" Heavenly Rest Church " is opened every Sunday 
at nine o'clock and two o'clock for divine service 
in Chinese, and at eleven and five for English. 
Class number two meets here immediately after 
the nine o'clock preaching, and consists of ten 
members. 

The chapel in the city, and the two in the southern 
suburb, have been opened as often as the health and 
strength of the brethren would permit, 



COUNTRY APPOINTMENTS. 227 

V 
COUNTRY APPOINTMENTS. 

Class number three, consisting of thirteen mem- 
bers, meets at Koi-Hung every Sunday morning. 
This appointment is visited by a native pastor every 
Sunday, and by one of the missionaries once in two 
weeks. The brethren are growing in grace and in 
the knowledge of God. 

Ngu-Ttang. — Brother Hu long Mi was stationed 
here by Brother Gibson at the beginning of the year, 
and the result has been most favorable. Men, women, 
and children are learning to read, and sing, and pray 
with the greatest avidity. A hamlet of ignorant and 
degraded idolaters is being converted into a civilized 
and Christianized community, observing the Chris- 
tian Sabbath, abstaining from the miserable vices 
of their countrymen, and walking carefully before 
the Lord. The class at this place consists of fif- 
teen members. Both these appointments have 
asked for aid in building suitable chapels for pub- 
lic worship. We intend to assist them during the 
coming year in the erection of places of worship. 
A couple of plain Christian synagogues will serve 
to distinguish these simple-minded disciples from 
the masses of idolaters who worship in the costly 
temples with which the country is everywhere 
supplied. 

NATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS. 
Quarterly collections for the poor, and class penny 
collections, have been successfully instituted among 
the members during the past year. 



228 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 

4 PERSECUTION. 

Brother Tang was apprehended by the authorities 
a month since and imprisoned, for assisting in renting 
a chapel in the city by the English Church mission. 
The English and American consuls promptly applied 
to the prefect for his release, which was speedily 
effected by the former threatening to stop payment 
of the duties on exports in case the man was not set 
free. The gentry have hitherto succeeded in pre- 
venting access to the city except in the way of street- 
preaching. What the victories of the British at 
Tien-tsin will do for us remains to be seen. 

PRESS. 

Funds have been provided for the establishment 
of a printing office with Chinese and English type ; 
the Chinese type to be obtained in China, and the 
English type, press, and cases to be sent from Amer- 
ica. We have good hope that this establishment will 
be in operation speedily. The object is chiefly to 
print the Holy Scriptures in the colloquial language 
of the province; also books of instruction for the 
mission, and tracts and religious books ere long. 
This printing establishment will be a great addition 
to the ability of our mission. 

STEADY INCREASE. 

Brother Gibson has baptized ten adults and four- 
teen infants during the year. This is a respectable 
increase ; but the most encouraging feature is that our 
converts increase in grace and knowledge as fast as 
they do in numbers. 



SUMMAKIES. 229 

SUMMARY. 

Missionaries 6 

Assistants 7 

Native Helpers 6 

Churches in Fuhchau 2 

Other preaching places in city and country 5 

Baptisms : Adults, 62 ; Children, 26 88 

Died in the faith, males ; 3 

Dropped, for various causes 5 

Present adult membership 54 

Increase in adult membership this year 10 

Sunday-school 1 

Teachers 6 

Scholars 30 

Members in English Class 8 

Pupils in Boys' Boarding School 17 

Pupils in Girls' Boarding School 8 

Scholars in Girls' Day School 8 

Foundlings in Asylum 18 

MISSIONARY SUBSCRIPTIONS. 

James Dick, Esq $10 00 

Mrs. E. "Wentworth 5 00 

Rev. O. Gibson 5 00 

Rev. S. L. Baldwin 5 00 

Rev. C. R. Martin 5 00 

Miss B. "Woolston 5 00 

Dr. H. B. Gibson 10 00 

"W. Gregory, Esq 5 00 

"W". C. M'Cue, Esq 5 00 

E. G. Hedge, Esq 10 00 

G. F. Weller, Esq 10 00 

Thomas Dunn, Esq 10 00 

J. H. Nichols, Esq 20 00 

A. B. Neilson, Esq 25 00 

Lieutenant Beaumont, U. S. N 5 00 

Mr. Higgs 1 00 

W'. H. Medhurst, Esq., H. B. M. Consul 10 00 

W. H. Chapman, Esq 20 00 

Rev. B. W. Gorham, through Rev. S. L. Baldwin. . . 25 00 



Total $191 00 



230 PREACHING AND CHURCHES. 



SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR FOUNDLING ASYLUM. 

W. S. Sloan, Esq $25 00 

D. 0. Clark, Esq 20 00 

M. G. Moore, Esq .' 5 00 

G. F. Weller, Esq 10 00 

G. W. Schwemann, Esq 5 00 

H. King, Esq 5 00 

A. B. Neilson, Jr., Esq 10 00 

John Odell, Esq. 5 00 

Thomas Dunn, Esq 5 00 

E. G. Hedge, Esq 5 00 

W. H. Green, Esq 10 00 

William Brand, Esq 5 00 

John O. Lent, Esq 5 00 

John Forster, Esq 20 00 

H. Lowcock, Esq ,. 5 00 

Thomas K. Ashton, Esq 10 00 

Arthur Smith, Esq 20 00 

Thomas Smith, Esq, 10 00 

D. N. BottlewaUa, Esq 5 00 

Jairaz, Fazul & Co, 10 00 

W. H. Chapman, Esq 5 00 

George Wordsworth, Esq. 5 00 

Thomas L. Larken, Esq 10 00 

Total $215 00 



BOYS' ACADEMY. 231 



CHAPTER XIII. 

SCHOOLS. 

Okdinaky day schools for Chinese boys, under 
native teachers and supervised by missionaries, were 
instituted at the commencement of the mission. As 
the mission advanced, however, and entered more 
fully on the work of public preaching, these schools 
were gradually suspended, and, with the approval of 
the Missionary Society of our Church, the education- 
al interests of the mission were concentrated into a 
boarding school, organized November 26, 1856. 

Despairing of immediate reinforcement, and anx- 
ious to make the most efficient use of the facilities and 
disposable force on hand, the mission resolved to au- 
thorize Brother Gibson to open a boys' school, as the 
basis of a future academy, in the house purchased of 
Russell & Co. for a girls' school and seminary, be- 
lieving there would be ample time to build an estab- 
lishment for the reception of female teachers while 
awaiting their arrival. The house is spacious. It is 
built of wood, and one of the first specimens of houses 
erected by carpenters uneducated in "Western modes. 
The lot is ample, and now furnishes a good site 
for a substantial brick house, and academy attached, 
which are occupied by the Waugh Female Seminary. 



232 schools. 

Brother Gibson proposed to take sixteen or twenty 
boys as boarders, under his immediate supervision, 
and provide them with Christian education. The 
American Board Mission had a most nourishing 
school of this kind, and a large proportion ' of the 
scholars are now exemplary and efficient members of 
their Church in Fuhchau. 

The premises represented by the opposite cut, 
purchased by our mission from Messrs. Russell & Co., 
being well-suited for accommodating a class of Chi- 
nese boys, the mission cordially approved of Brother 
Gibson's plan for a select boarding-school, and au- 
thorized him to make the arrangements necessary 
for effecting the desired object. Boys from twelve to 
eighteen years of age, who give evidence of talent, 
are received into the school, on a written agreement- 
signed by their parent or guardian, for a term vary- 
ing from four to six years. While the bo/y is with us 
we furnish him board, clothes, books, and room ac- 
commodations ; our object being to give him a Chris- 
tian home. If, after a fair trial, any boy fails to meet 
our expectations, we are at liberty to return him to 
his friends; but if, at any time, a boy is removed 
from the school against our wishes, then his parent 
or guardian shall pay the mission for his board, cloth- 
ing, etc., while he was in the school. 

The Bible is the prominent text-book in the school, 
and our object will be to imbue the minds of the 
scholars with its sacred principles. We shall also 
avail ourselves of all the appliances within our reach 
for imparting to their minds such knowledge of the 
natural sciences as may tend to elevate their thoughts, 



LETTER FROM REV. S. L. BALDWIN. 235 

and prepare them to coneeive more worthily of Him 
to whom we direct them as the only proper object of 
religions adoration. In this school we desire to train 
a class of gifted Chinese youth, who shall be lights 
amid this appalling darkness. We wish to make it 
a Christian Propaganda, from which shall go forth 
holy yonng men, with apostolic zeal and courage, to 
preach Jesus through this vast empire. 

The following letter from the Rev. S. L. Baldwin, 
of the Methodist Episcopal mission at Fuhchau, will 
give the reader a pleasant impression of the school : 

" Last Saturday evening ten of the boys belonging 
to Brother Gibson's school gave us a call. Mrs. 
Baldwin invited them into the parlor, whereupon 
they all took off their shoes, and leaving them on the 
verandah, came in with noiseless tread. They first 
examined with great interest some pictures which 
were hanging about the walls ; one which attracted 
considerable attention was ' the death-bed of "Wesley.' 
I tried to explain to them that he was the 'head 
man ' of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and that 
when he was dying he exclaimed : l The best of all 
is, God is with us !' After making a pretty thorough 
examination of the room, they got together in a 
group, and seemed to be talking pretty earnestly 
about something, and finally one of the little boys 
came up to me in a very respectful manner, and 
asked if Sinaniong (Mrs. Baldwin) would make some 
music for them. She gladly consented, and took her 
place at the melodeon, around which the boys ar- 
ranged themselves in a semicircle, and listened with 
great attention while she sang and played one or two 



236 schools. 

pieces. She then proposed to give them a lesson in 
singing, and spent some time in practicing them on 
the ' the scale,' first taking each boy separately, and 
then all together. Most of them have good voices, 
and sound the notes quite as readily as a class of 
boys at home. They closed their part of the exer- 
cises by singing a Chinese hymn set to the tune 
of Balerma. These boys are in fact the life and 
soul of our singing at the Tienang church, and I 
think it would be well to take them all over to Iong- 
tau occasionally, to give the brethren and fathers 
there a few lessons, and prevent such a merciless 
slaughter of Old Hundred as takes place there every 
Sunday. 

"I brought out a quantity of daguerreotypes for 
the boys to inspect, and I assure you they underwent 
a careful scrutiny. Many questions were asked about 
the manner in which they were made, but I found 
my present knowledge of Chinese entirely inadequate 
to an explanation of the process of daguerreotyping. 
When all their comments were ended, and the like- 
nesses put up, a very earnest request was made for a 
* little more music,' which was readily complied with. 
The boys then expressed their thanks, and requested 
us, according to the Chinese rules of politeness, to 
' take a seat,' whereupon I advised them to ' walk 
slowly,' and they took their departure in an orderly 
manner. 

" Having thus given you a Saturday evening scene, 
let me describe a missionary's Sunday in Fuhchau. 
Brother Maclay has gone to our country appoint- 
ment, where he enjoyed the luxury of sleeping on a 



A SUNDAY IN FUHCHAU. 237 

Chinese table last night, and will preach two or 
three times to-day, hold class, and give instruction 
and answer questions in an inquiry meeting. Dr. 
Wentworth goes to Iongtau, where he will preach 
twice, and hold class. At nine A. M. I repair to 
Tienang church, and listen to a sermon preached by 
Brother Gibson from John x, 9 : 'I am the door,' 
etc. I do not understand enough of the language to 
get a connected idea of the sermon, though I often 
catch a word, and occasionally a whole sentence. 
But I know it is a good sermon, because the words 
come out earnestly and rapidly, as though the speak- 
er had something at heart for which he wished to 
find expression; and the audience are all looking 
eagerly at him. As he proceeds with the subject his 
voice becomes more tender, and his eyes begin to 
moisten, and something in his throat seems to keep 
back the words he would utter ; and then my heart 
feels that it is a good sermon, and sends up a prayer 
that the darkened souls about me may enter in by 
' the door ' into the kingdom of our G-od." 

The following report for the boys' boarding-school 
connected with this mission is furnished by the Rev. 
Otis Gibson, principal of the school, and is dated 
September 30, 1857 : 

"The boarding-school which I was authorized to 
establish was opened November 26, 1856, with four 
scholars, and has been in constant operation since. 
Twelve boys in all have been in the school, two of 
whom have been dismissed. One, Chun ITuah, was 
dismissed for incapacity soon after the school was 
opened ; the other, Pin Kuong, was sent away this 



238 schools. 

morning for continued misconduct, especially wrang- 
ling and fighting. Pin Kuong was the most trouble- 
some boy in the school. He had been in the school 
from the first, is sixteen years of age, has acquitted 
himself well in his studies, but is of a quarrelsome, 
overbearing disposition. I trust the example thus 
made of him will prove a wholesome lesson to the 
other boys. 

" There are now ten boys left in the school. Four 
of them are committed to us for a term of six years, 
three of them for five years, two who clothe them- 
selves, and had previously been a long time in the 
Rev. Mr. Peet's school, for four years, and one lately 
received for eight years. 

" The boy ISTeng Sicu, son of Brother Ting, has 
continued to give satisfaction, and I now recommend 
him to the mission as a suitable boy to be educated 
by the bounty of Sister. Hill, of New Haven, Con- 
necticut. It will be necessary that the boy retain his 
Chinese name among the Chinese; but the Board 
and Mrs. Hill will hereafter know him as Samuel 
Agur Judson, according to Sister HilJ.'s request. 

" The general deportment of the boys has been 
good. I think I may safely say that their general 
behavior and progress in study would be creditable 
to boys of the same age in our own more favored 
land. One class have committed to memory the 
Catechism of our Church, (excepting proof-texts,) the 
Catechism prepared by the Rev. Mr. Baldwin, some 
ten chapters of Matthew's Gospel, and more than 
half the primary geography and astronomy. They 
have also studied Chinese literature half of each day. 



BOYS' ACADEMY. 239 

They not only commit to memory, but are made to 
understand everything they go over. I am both sur- 
prised and pleased at the success which has attended 
this the first year's experiment of a boarding- 
school." 

I take much pleasure in bearing testimony to the 
zeal and ability exhibited by Brother Gibson in the 
management of this school, and I cannot doubt as to 
the blessed results of such judicious and faithful 
labors. The school has become already an interest- 
ing and important branch of our operations, and we 
have an abiding confidence that it will accomplish 
great good. The report of the principal for the year 
1859 says : 

" In addition to my regular share of the labors of 
our general work, I have given all the time and at- 
tention I could spare to the boys' boarding-school 
under my charge. The new school-house has been 
erected at an expense of $500. It contains a small 
cook-room, dining-room, school-room, and sixteen 
sleeping-rooms, each room intended to accommodate 
two boys. One of these rooms is used as a store and 
clothes room, one is occupied by the school-teacher, 
and one by my personal teacher, leaving accommoda- 
tions for twenty-six boys. During the past year I 
have received four new boys into the school, and 
have dismissed two, one for inefiiciency, and one for 
continued vicious conduct. The present number in 
attendance is fourteen. 

" The total current expenses from September 30, 
1858, to September 30, 1859, is $350, or an average 
of $25 for each boy. This includes teacher's salary, 



240 SCHOOLS. 

» 

cook's wages, books, stationary, beds, board, and 
clothing for the boys. By making wholesale pur- 
chases of rice I have succeeded in reducing the cost 
of board, and some presents of cast-off clothing from 
gentlemen of the foreign community have reduced 
the expense of clothing. 

" The oldest boy, Ing Kuang, has been received 
into the Church, and is, I believe, a consistent and 
growing Christian. Two others who were candidates 
for baptism failed to give permanent satisfaction as 
to their fitness, and consequently their baptism is in- 
definitely postponed. In their studies the boys have 
made commendable progress, and for the most part 
have been regular and orderly. In several instances, 
however, I have been obliged to resort to very severe 
discipline, and the proper use of the rod has not 
been without a salutary effect. Chinese boys need a 
master no less than American boys of the same age. 
The school continues to commend itself to us as an 
efficient auxiliary in our great work of evangelizing 
this strangely idolatrous people." 

Brother Gibson's usually robust health was some- 
what impaired during our recent hot weather, and 
referring to this topic, he writes : " It was an afflic- 
tion for me to be obliged to accept a discharge from 
regular duty during the months of July and August, 
on account of my health. I am now regaining my 
usual strength, and rejoice in the privilege of resum- 
ing my labors with increased energy. With the ex- 
ception of the two months mentioned above, I have 
endeavored to bear my regular share in our laborious 
but glorious work, striving to be ' instant in season 



BOYS' ACADEMY. 241 

and out of season,' if by any means I might, through 
the blessing of God, be instrumental in saving some 
souls for whom Christ died." 

The report for 1860 says : 

" Since the date of our last annual report five new- 
scholars have been received into the school, under the 
usual written agreement, for a term of years. One 
is in attendance on trial, one attends as a day scholar, 
four have 'been expelled from the school for constant 
bad conduct, leaving the present number in attend- 
ance seventeen. Of these fifteen are regular mem- 
bers of the school by written agreement. The other 
two are as yet simply day scholars. 

" The total expenses of the school, including repairs 
of the house, boarding, clothing, and bedding for the 
boys, teacher's salary, and cook's wages, from Sep- 
tember 30, 1859, to September 30, 1860, is $488 23, 
making an average of about $32 50 for each scholar. 
Last year the average was but $25. The increased 
price of all kinds of food and clothing fully accounts 
for the increased average expense. 

" The boys have made commendable progress in 
all their studies. Especially is this the case with the 
class in geography and Scripture history. In their 
behavior the boys are quite orderly, and have caused 
me but little trouble during the past year. "We have 
all been greatly rejoiced by the conversion and recep- 
tion into the Church of Ing Sing, the second boy of 
the school. He has given satisfactory evidence of his 
sincerity, was baptized in September, and is a boy 
of much promise. One other lad, who at one time 
was an applicant for baptism, proved himself a base 

16 



242 , schools. 

hypocrite, and became so notoriously bad that I felt 
compelled to dismiss him from the school. At present 
there are a number of the boys who seem quite 
serious, and who are in the custom of holding prayer- 
meetings in their own rooms. 

" I am happy to believe that the school commends 
itself to the brethren of the mission as a promising 
and fruitful branch of our great work." 

The mission, soon after its commencement, began 
to feel the importance of a school for the education 
of Chinese girls. Mrs. J. I. White was admirably 
qualified for initiating this enterprise, but, alas ! she 
finished her course on earth before her burning zeal 
could develop her long cherished plans on this sub- 
ject. During the autumn of 1850 a small frame 
building, plastered within and without, was erected 
on the rear portion of the lot occupied by Mr. Maclay ; 
and about the first of January, 1851, a day school for 
Chinese girls was commenced in it under the care of 
Mrs. "Maclay. The cost of the house was fifty-five 
dollars. The scholars lived at home, but took their 
dinners at the school. 

The success of this Christian enterprise was quite 
gratifying, and its influence upon the Chinese of 
the vicinity entirely salutary. The average daily 
attendance at the school was about fifteen scholars, 
and the progress of the little pupils was very encour- 
aging. The school was continued, with occasional 
interruptions, till the summer of 1856, when, in con- 
sequence of Mrs. Maclay's inability to attend to its 
supervision, it was temporarily suspended. It was 
resumed early in 1857, under the joint supervision of 



a 




WAUGH FEMALE SEMINARY. 245 

Mrs. Gibson and Mrs. Maclay, and the annual report 
of the mission for that year says : 

" Mrs. Maclay and Mrs. Gibson have devoted a por- 
tion of their time to the day school for girls. We think 
these unassuming labors are not unacceptable to the 
Lord of the harvest, and we feel assured that the good 
fruit will hereafter appear. About thirty girls have 
been connected with the school during the year. The 
course of study in these day schools is not so extensive 
or thorough as in the boarding-school. The day schol- 
ars do not generally remain long in the school, and 
we think it best to confine them mainly to the sacred 
Scriptures, and to books prepared by missionaries." 

During 1858 the school was suspended, with a view 
to the organization of a boarding-school for Chinese 
girls under the care of Miss Beulah Woolston and 
Miss Sallie H. Woolston, of New Jersey. Temporary 
provision was made for the school in the mission 
building formerly occupied by the boarding-school 
for Chinese boys under the care of the Rev. Otis 
Gibson. To provide suitable buildings for the girls' 
seminary an appeal on the subject was addressed to 
the Female China Missionary Society of Baltimore, 
and with the most praiseworthy zeal this society con- 
tributed a large portion of the funds required for the 
purpose. 

The Rev. Dr. Wentworth prepared, in behalf of 
the mission, an appeal on this subject, in which 
he says: 

" This noble enterprise has been taken in hand by 
the Baltimore Female Missionary Society, and gen- 
erously indorsed by the Board, It is a. work of 



246 schools. 

some magnitude, and will require time for its com- 
pletion. It is not yet too late to second the move- 
ment by additional facts drawn from the soil where 
it is proposed to erect so appropriate and durable a 
monument to the memory of a great and good man, 
distinguished by his fidelity to the Church and his 
zeal for the cause of missions. 

" 1. The low estimate in which females are held in 
China, and their consequent debased condition, are 
the first facts to which we would call attention in 
our appeal for means with which to elevate their 
social position. In five cases out of ten the birth of 
a female infant is regarded as a calamity. I am 
often asked the singular question, ' Which sex do you 
prefer in your country, male or female V The reply, 
1 It makes no difference ; we are thankful for such as 
Providence sends,' is received with a shake of the 
head or a smile of incredulity, and the invariable 
rejoinder, 'Boys are a blessed godsend, but girls are 
a curse and a nuisance.' Nor arj3 the Chinese back- 
ward in using the readiest means to rid themselves 
of the thankless charge. A family in good circum- 
stances will tolerate two or three daughters ; but the 
poorer classes destroy them without compunction 
and without ceremony. Fathers and midwives be- 
lieve themselves to be doing a meritorious act in 
quietly suppressing existence at its threshold by im- 
mersion in the nearest vessel of water, or exposure 
by night to the chance mercies of the public high- 
ways, with the surer hazards of cold and starvation. 
It would chill the blood of tender-hearted Christian 
mothers to hear the tales told to our missionary la- 



WAUGH FEMALE SEMINARY. 247 

dies by their native nurses. All these women con- 
verse with levity and indifference on the subject of 
female infanticide until they come to learn that we 
regard the practice with horror, when they will 
deny or extenuate the offense, lest they should 
suffer in the good opinion of their foreign em- 
ployers. One of our ladies questioned a woman 
in her employ as to its commonness, and was 
told that in the rural villages there was 'scarcely a 
house in which one or more had not been destroyed ;' 
that 'one of the woman's near neighbors, out of 
a family of seven daughters, had destroyed five; 
that she herself had not committed the cruel deed, 
though she had borne three daughters and one son ; 
'the son was alive, but the demons [query, mid- 
wives?] had carried off all the girls!' It is a signifi- 
cant intimation of the commonness of the practice, 
that almost the only great public charity known in 
China is the native Female Foundling Hospital, 
found, it is believed, in every important city to 
which foreigners have access. Among the better 
classes female infants are freely given away to any- 
body who will bring them np ; and these, in some 
parts of the empire, are reared for purposes to which 
death itself would be a preferable lot. 

"2. But supposing the female escapes suffocation 
at birth, what is her condition as she grows up % In 
this province she is either a lady or a day laborer ; a 
gilded recluse or a field-hand; destined to idleness, 
frivolus occupations, and jealous seclusion, or made 
to delve in the soil, tug at the oar, groan under bur- 
dens, and jostle, shout, and swear with the roughest 



248 SCHOOLS. 

and rudest in the crowded streets, thronged rivers, 
and choked market-places. Bad as it is, the condi- 
tion of the Fuh-kien field-woman is in one respect 
better than that of the Fuh-kien lady. She enjoys 
freedom of locomotion. The lady is systematically 
crippled from infancy. It is not without infinite 
pain and distress that the foot is thus unnaturally 
cramped, swathed with cruel bandages, dwarfed, 
and distorted, that it may be compressed for life 
into a gilded slipper two inches in length. But the 
cramping of the female foot is a small misfortune 
compared with the more cruel cramping of the 
female mind. In a land of books not one Chinese 
female in ten can read, and then scarcely more 
than sufficient to repeat, parrotlike, characters of 
which she does not understand the meaning. Her 
education is restricted to the few brief years of girl- 
hood that precede a marriage consummated as early 
as years and growth will possibly allow. She is 
betrothed by others to one whom she has never seen, 
and bought at a stipulated price by a lover who has 
his first view of her when, after being carried to his 
house in the marriage sedan, and the ceremony com- 
pleted, she is finally unvailed in the presence of a 
lord and master with whom she is never to eat, never 
to appear in public, and never to share those deli- 
cate attentions which constitute the charm of life in 
civilized and Christian communities. If she belongs 
to the working class she is expected to share the out- 
door labors of her better half, or perhaps to work for 
an idle rake who takes her wages as fast as earned, 
to pamper his own intemperance or gratify his own 



WAUGH FEMALE SEMINARY. 249 

beastly desires. In her best estate the Chinese fe- 
male is ignorant, confined, and despised. Christian- 
ity alone will elevate her to her true and deserved 
position among the women of the earth. Christian 
schools, managed by Christian ladies, will have this 
elevating effect. Shall we have the means for estab- 
lishing and maintaining such a school in our Fuhchau 
mission ? Methinks if the heads and figures on the 
coins in your purses had tongues and vocal powers 
they would shout in chorus in the affirmative. 

" 3. The liberality of the merchants and other for- 
eign residents of Fuhchau, English and American, 
has enabled us to establish in our mission a Found- 
ling Asylum to rescue female infants from destruc- 
tion. The native Christians assure us that so soon 
as its existence shall have become extensively known 
parents will hasten to avail themselves of so merciful 
an alternative in place of destroying their offspring, 
and that in a year or two we shall have as many 
applicants as we shall have room for, or know what 
to do with. This, in the suburbs of a city of six 
hundred thousand inhabitants, seems highly proba- 
ble. All these female infants, doubtless as many as 
we shall be able to support, will grow up on our 
hands, and will be the property of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. So long as they are infants they 
will remain, at our charge, in the hands of native 
nurses ; but with the age of weaning it is desirable 
that they be also weaned, for a season at least, from 
all connection with heathendom. Our female board- 
ing-school will necessarily have an infant depart- 
ment — -a safe and convenient asylum in which to 



250 SCHOOLS. 

rear these rejected foundlings. Thirty or forty of 
these, grown up to girlhood, would of themselves 
constitute a female school of some magnitude. Will 
the Church, will the ladies of Christendom, provide 
the means for educating these adopted daughters, or 
shall they grow up in an atmosphere as thick with 
ignorance and darkness as that from which they have 
been providentially rescued. 

"4. We want Christian wives for our Christian 
young men. We have already baptized and brought 
into the Church a number of single young men, but 
no single young women. All these youths will have to 
betake themselves to the Hittites for wives, or remain 
unmarried; and are in imminent danger of being 
drawn into or mixed up with the superstitions and 
idolatries inseparable from a Chinese wedding cer- 
emony. The intermarriage of Christian converts 
with unbelievers has been a stupendous difficulty 
from the days of Paul until now. It is one of the 
most" difficult things to manage connected with for- 
eign missionary work. Female boarding schools, 
where females may be trained to Christianity, will 
alleviate the difficulty to a considerable extent, and, 
in connection with the orphan asylum, may ulti- 
mately do away with it altogether. 

" 5. Girls converted in Christian schools, and re- 
turning into the bosoms of heathen families, will carry 
with them the results of Christian instruction, and 
sow the seeds of Gospel truth in the minds of their 
children, and thus insensibly promote the spread of 
Gospel truth in quarters where no other influence 
could possibly be brought to bear. Christian school 



WAUGH FEMALE SEMINARY. 251 

girls make Christian wives and Christian mothers. 
This it is that makes all Churches so anxious to 
get the educating of as many youth as possible 
within the influence of Bible truth. Chinese girls 
will form no exception to the general rule. The 
female heart is as religiously inclined in China as in 
any other quarter of the globe. Shall we leave it to 
be overrun with the weeds of iniquity, or shall we 
sow it with the seeds of virtue, and adorn it with 
flowers of celestial promise ? 

" 6. The enterprise is already in hand. It is an 
eminently practicable enterprise. It has nothing 
prospective or visionary about it. It does not call 
for armies of missionaries to penetrate the interior, 
or for an annual expenditure in China of more mis- 
sionary money than all the Methodist Church now 
raises for all missionary purposes. It is within the 
reach of small means, and entirely within the com- 
pass of female effort. Its success is assured by the 
success of similar operations in other parts of China. 
It is stimulated by the example of those heroic ladies 
who have in former years devoted their lives, accom- 
plishments, and in some instances private fortunes, 
as well as personal labors, not without fruits, to the 
renovation of their own sex in this barbarous clime. 
It is encouraged by the success of the corresponding 
department in our mission. A flourishing boys' 
school has been in vigorous operation among us for 
more than a year past, with every prospect of useful- 
ness and efficiency, as an auxiliary to the preaching 
of the Gospel among this people. 

" We are just now completing premises for the ac- 



252 schools. 

commodation of thirty boys, and the narrow quarters 
abandoned by the boys will suffice for a handful of 
girls for a year or so ; but by the time our female 
teachers shall have learned a little of the language, 
and fitted themselves to teach through this medium, 
we shall need an academy building, with dormi- 
tories, class-rooms, and other apartments, sufficient 
for thirty or forty girls and their teachers, similar, 
on a smaller scale, to our conference academies 
at home. The Baltimore China Female Mission- 
ary Society have heroically taken it upon them- 
selves to supply this lack. Will not the ladies of 
the entire connection come up to their help in this 
arduous enterprise ? It is to be done by special con- 
tribution, and ought not to interfere with the regular 
missionary collections for the year. We feel intense 
interest in the scheme, but have endeavored to write 
calmly and dispassionately ; and yet have desired to 
array before the female members of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church such substantial reasons for our ap- 
peal as should influence their judgments, and induce 
permanent interest rather than elicit a few flashes of 
sentiment, or a merely transient feeling, which would 
pass away without results, or substantial evidence, in 
the form of 'material aid,' that they appreciate the 
greatness of the cause to which we have thus briefly 
summoned their attention. 

"I need not reiterate the arguments of former com- 
munications : the seclusion of Chinese women from 
male missionaries and the direct preaching of the Gos- 
pel ; the impracticability of married women doing effi- 
cient missionary work and attending properly to their 




HI txi 



miss woolston's eepoet. 255 

own families at the same time ; and the breadth of the 
field for the exercise of female teaching." 

The accompanying picture will give soine idea of 
the substantial, commodious, and handsome build- 
ings provided for this most interesting and promising 
institution. But the Church should remember that the 
school is to be supported for years to come. Forty 
dollars a year will maintain a pupil in either of 
our schools. One lad in the boys' school is now 
kept by the liberality of a lady living in the United 
States. Are there not others who could support a 
China boy or a China girl in one of our boarding 
schools? Are there not classes of Sunday-school 
boys or Sunday-school girls which would undertake 
the yearly support of a little China boy or a little 
China girl in one of these schools? But above 
all, send with your contributions your prayers that 
God would bless these enterprises, for without his 
blessing they will prove none other than distinguished 
failures, while with his blessing they may be instru- 
mental in bringing many into the ways of life. 

Miss Woolston, who has charge of this interesting 
school, writes August 30, 1860 : 

"The boarding-school was commenced the 28th 
of last November. At that time the prospect of 
securing scholars was not favorable. A boarding- 
school for girls was a new thing to the natives of 
Fuhchau, and no one seemed willing to be the first 
to patronize it. 

" The school opened with one little Chinese girl. 
She continued alone for eight days, when six others 
were added. In a short time four were taken home 



256 schools. 

again. "We have now in school ten little girls. 
These are all between seven and thirteen years of 
age, and nine of them are bound to the mission, three 
for five, four for six, and two for seven years. All 
these, excepting one, have unbound feet, though two 
others are considered as belonging to the small-footed 
class, and are to be dressed in that style. I speak of 
this because so much stress is laid on it by the 
Chinese. 

" Our little girls are very interesting, and I think 
they are perfectly contended to be in school, sepa- 
rated from their homes. They delight very much to 
go home to make a visit, but are equally delighted 
to get back to school again. They seem to enjoy 
their studies, their play, their work, and their wor- 
ship. They are very obedient, and it is rare that we 
are compelled to punish any one of them. They study 
the written character during the week, and on the 
Sabbath have a lesson in the colloquial. 

" Many of the obstacles to obtaining scholars seem 
to be removed, and I think the school will be filled 
up as rapidly as will be well." 

In a more recent letter from Miss Woolston, dated 
October 5, 1860, she says : 

The girls' boarding school has been in progress ten 
months. During this time fifteen Chinese girls have 
been placed in school, only eight of whom now 
remain. Of those removed one was bound to the 
mission, and two others were considered secured. 
These last two were taken home on account of sick- 
ness, and it is doubtful whether they will be allowed 
to return. 



MISS WOOLSTON'S EEPORT. 257 

" The oldest girl in school is thirteen, the youngest 
eight years old. They all are obedient, and seem 
quite contented to be from their homes. 

" Through the week they study the Chinese writ- 
ten character, and on the Sabbath have a lesson 
in the colloquial. 

"Two of the present number on first entering 
were exceedingly careless and stupid, but are now 
greatly improved. 

" The girls already begin to receive some correct 
ideas of Christianity, and do not hesitate to say it is 
not only useless to worship idols, but very displeasing 
to the heavenly Father. Five of them are from idol- 
atrous families. 

"Hi-to, one of the youngest, paused one day in 
recitation to say that at her home there were two 
gods, which her father, mother, and brothers wor- 
shiped, and which she also used to worship ; but now 
she did not wish to do so any more. 

" Though the number of scholars is still small, the 
school is interesting, and in a promising condition." • 

17 



258 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 

A FEW extracts from my journal will give the 
reader some idea of our life and labors during the 
earlier years of our operations at Fuhchau : 

January 5, 1854. We are in the midst of many 
and conflicting rumors with regard to the movements 
of the insurgents. One day we hear that Pekin is 
about to be captured, and perhaps the very- next day 
we are told that the insurgents have suffered an 
overwhelming defeat. An imperial proclamation has 
recently come down from Pekin stating that the 
" thieves " are nearly extirpated, that order will soon 
•be restored in the disturbed provinces, that now all 
parties should be quiet and industrious, and, in view 
of the urgent wants of the emperor, that all should 
hasten with their money to fill the government's 
empty treasury. The good people of Fuhchau do 
not seem at all disposed to assist the emperor in 
this way ; and the general impression here about the 
proclamation is that the emperor has stated what is 
not true in regard to the insurgents. 

January 12. Distributing books in the city. Gen- 
erally the people give me no serious annoyance in 
the performance of this difficult part of my work. 



A BLOW ON THE HEAD. 259 

They are very eager to get our books, and sometimes 
embarrass me not a little ; but usually I am able to 
select the persons to whom I wish to give books, and 
can refuse all others. To-day, however, a rude, 
boisterous young man rushed out of a public-house 
as I was passing, and pressing through the crowd, 
demanded a book in a vociferous manner. He fol- 
lowed me a short distance, giving me great annoy- 
ance ; and finally seeing that I would not accede to 
his demand, he stepped behind me and with his hand 
gave me rather a heavy blow on the head. Having 
on a thick cap the blow did not affect me much, and 
turning round I saw the fellow making his escape as 
fast as he could along the street, frequently looking 
back over his shoulder as he ran. In true Chinese 
style, each man in the crowd proceeded to denounce 
most voluminously the unfortunate wight who was 
not present to defend himself, and then eagerly asked 
for books, saying, " We >are good men, we would not 
strike you." Telling them, however, that I feared 
the people who suffered so bad a man to live among 
them could not themselves be very good, I declined 
giving them books and passed on, every few seconds 
hearing one and another of them say, " He speaks 
truly ; it was very wrong to strike him," etc. 

February 17. To-day, while distributing books at 
the door of the chapel, I observed a man who seemed 
to be greatly interested in what was going on. Some 
one said to him, " "Why don't you take a book ?" " I 
don't want any," was his curt reply. He seemed 
annoyed when any one looked at him steadily, and I 
became interested to ascrtain his character. • Hearing 



260 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 

me speak to the people while giving out the books, 
he gradually approached where I was standing. 
After listening for some time he touched my elbow, 
and drawing something from his bosom, he held it 
carefully covered in his hand, and opening his fingers 
a little asked me to look at it. I looked and saw 
that it was a portrait of one of the apostles, (St. Paul, 
I think,) nicely set into a gilt frame. He was much 
excited, and thrust it back quickly into his bosom, 
and asked me if I knew what it meant. I told him 
what it was, and that I supposed him to be a Roman 
Catholic. "Are you one?" he asked eagerly. "!Nb," 
I replied, "our doctrines differ from yours." He 
appeared gratified with my noticing him, and taking 
a position at my side he proceeded to make sundry 
remarks to the people about our plan of operations, 
evincing a considerable degree of acquaintance with 
his subject. 

December 2. Met a detachment of soldiers in the 
street as I was distributing books. They were on 
their way to the department of Fing-hua to join the 
imperial army under the lieutenant-governor of this 
province. As they straggled along the street I had 
a good opportunity for giving them some copies of 
our " Sermon on the Mount." 

December 4. This morning I resumed our usual 
Sunday-school exercises in the girls' school-room. 
During the past summer they had been suspended in 
view of my absence, and now, with refreshed spirits, 
I felt it a great privilege again to address these 
scholars and teachers. I was pleased to find all our 
old scholars in their places, with the addition of a 



CHAPEL SERVICES. 261 

goodly number of new faces. There are now twenty- 
little Chinese girls in the school. This is a greater 
number than we have ever had, and we feel much 
encouraged by it. 

December 6. Chapel at Iongtau. "We use the 
word chapel in an accommodated sense. In Fuhchau 
our chapels are generally one of the low, narrow, 
dark Chinese rooms, which, by a little extra scrub- 
bing, paint, and efforts at light and ventilation, we 
manage to use as a place for meeting the people. 
The chapel at Iongtau is of this discription. Situ- 
ated on one of the principal thoroughfares of the city, 
it affords us excellent facilities for coming in contact 
with large numbers of people. The people are gen- 
erally disposed to hear what the missionary has to 
say, though, like many church-goers in America, they 
are fond of short sermons. During the hour I spend 
in the chapel there will sometimes be present two or 
three separate and distinct congregations, each one 
staying perhaps fifteen or twenty minutes. This 
grows out of the habits of the people. Our congre- 
gations are composed principally of the working 
classes of the population, and, while willing to hear 
us speak, the claims of their business prevent them 
from staying long. And with our feeble use of the 
language, and the crowds of people thronging past 
the chapel-door, this is no disadvantage, as it enables 
us to preach a short discourse to a larger number of 
hearers. 

December 16. Three Luchuans came to my house 
to-day. One was the captain of one of the Luchuan 
junks now in this port. He was a shrewd man, and 



262 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 

possessed more knowledge of foreign countries than 
any of the Chinese I have conversed with. A large 
map of the world was hanging in the room, and he 
at once recognized some of the countries upon it. 
The smallness of the English islands seemed to sur 
prise him, while the broad territorial dimensions of 
the United States, comparing favorably with the 
eighteen provinces of China, seemed to demand his 
respect. After pointing out some of the larger coun- 
tries, I showed them the little specks that designate 
Luchu. The great contrast evidently surprised them, 
and with a characteristic grunt they gathered closely 
around the map, as if to screen their kingdom from 
the rude gaze of foreigners. " Yery large !" I said 
playfully, referring to Luchu. They smiled, and the 
captain touched his ear with his finger, saying in 
Chinese, " I understand." Finding them interested, 
I spent some time in pointing out to them on the 
map the various nations of the world, and adding 
such brief remarks as might convey to them some 
information about their character and mutual rela- 
tions. I inquired about Dr. Bettelheim, but they 
manifested perfect ignorance on the subject. I then 
asked if any American ships of war had visited their 
country recently. They hesitated for some time, but 
finally stated that last summer some American war- 
ships had come to their country, and that one of the 
vessels still remained there. Before going away they 
seemed to grow more frank and confidential, and I 
could not but feel encouraged to hope that the Lu- 
chuans might soon come to entertain more correct 
views with regard to intercourse with foreigners. 



PEKIN THREATENED. 263 

December 19. News has been received that the 
insurgents have entered the Chih-li province, and are 
now within a few days' march of Pekin. It is said 
the tidings were communicated by a native of Fuh- 
chau, who fills a high office at Pekin, and who, in 
consequence of the imminent danger at the capital, 
has sent portraits of himself and wife to his kindred 
here, with some valedictory stanzas reciting the perils 
now threatening his sovereign, and announcing his 
determination of dying with him. If Pekin falls into 
the hands of the insurgents, it is highly probable this 
officer's anticipations will be realized so far as he is 
concerned ; but I am inclined to think his friend, the 
emperor, considering " discretion the better part of 
valor," will make timely provision for his own safety 
by a swift retreat to the north. 

December 29. Yisited the city within the wall to- 
day, for the purpose of distributing books. I was 
surprised to find how easily I could pass along the 
streets and give books to such as appeared acquainted 
with the written character. I was careful, however, 
not to pass through the public thoroughfares, as in 
those places I would have been overpowered by the 
crowds. Selecting the most retired streets, and pass- 
ing along rather quickly, riding occasionally in the 
sedan when a crowd would collect at any point, I 
was able to distribute over two hundred Gospels and 
about three hundred copies of the " Sermon on the 
Mount." Once a crowd of boys, to whom I was 
unwilling to give books, began to cry out after me. 
I immediately stepped into a shop and remarked to 
the shopkeeper that, as a citizen of that district, the 



264: JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 

officers would hold him responsible for any dis- 
turbance that might occur in the place. He at once 
apprehended my meaning, and obtained the services 
of an old man in the shop to settle the matter. Tilled 
(at least apparently) with wrath, the old man poured 
out a perfect storm of rather highly seasoned epithets 
upon the poor boys, who appeared astounded at this 
sudden change in the aspect of affairs. The street 
was soon cleared ; and, as I passed on, the tones of 
the old gentleman's voice kept ringing in my ears till 
I was quite out of the neighborhood. 

1858. Our peaceable suburbs presented a scene of 
unusual uproar yesterday afternoon. A Canton man 
quarreled with a Fuhchau man in the street, and 
killed him on the spot. He was instantly seized by 
the mob, and, with his hands tied behind him, taken 
to the top of the hill back of the foreign hongs, and 
bound to a pine-tree. The wife of the deceased 
cooly took a nail, and drove it into the body, shoul- 
ders, breast, temples, and eyes of the writhing cul- 
prit, aided and abetted by a furious multitude in her 
bloody revenge. The man was just alive at sun- 
down, several hours after. I saw the mangled body 
this morning. The head was a perfect mass of gore. 
The conduct of the woman is loudly applauded by 
the natives, who will doubtless erect a monument of 
granite to the memory of her virtuous indignation. 
The mandarins offered to take the offender into cus- 
tody ; but she resented their interference, and insisted 
upon her right, from immemorial custom, to avenge 
her husband's death, and boldly accused these sleek- 
faced officials, in the presence of the crowd, of taking 



DYING IN A GRAVE. 265 

bribes and letting the guilty go free. At home the 
Cantonites are the most insolent of any people in 
China to foreigners, and they carry that insolence 
with them to other parts. Brutal and bloody as this 
summary justice appears, it may do good, by holding 
the natural impudence of these proud southrons in 
check. There are two thousand of them here, great- 
ly excitedi by this barbarous deed, and threatening 
revenge. A party of marines has been sent for, 
from H. B. M. ship-of-war Bace-Horse, to protect 
foreign residents, in the event of an outbreak between 
them and the Fuhchauans. 

A contributor to the "Fuhchau Courier" is re- 
sponsible for the following. We are willing to 
attest its correctness : 

" We were walking in the evening some time ago 
over the Consulate Hill, when our attention was 
attracted toward an old man seated by an open 
grave, and on going to the spot we found a coffin 
containing a man still alive, but breathing very 
heavily, placed already in the grave, with the lid 
Lying just outside, ready to be put on as soon as the 
vital spark was extinct. The man in the coffin was 
dressed in usual costume, apparently not of the 
poorest sort. He looked ill, but it appeared to us 
that proper medical aid might have saved his life. 
In the morning we repaired to the spot and found 
the grave earthed up, and from the appearance of 
the ground the man must have died shortly after we 
saw him. The anecdote is curious, and may. appear 
almost incredible. "We believe those best versed in 
Chinese matters have not met with a circumstance so 



266 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 

extraordinary as a man being positively put into his 
coffin and grave to die ! The explanation may per- 
haps be, that the charges for carrying a live man are 
considerably less than for a dead one." 

The Chinese are thoroughly persuaded of the exist- 
ence of evil spirits. One day, as I was speaking 
about the demoniacs of the ~New Testament, a man 
probably forty-five years of age, and who lived some 
distance from the city, suddenly interrupted me by 
saying : " That is true ; there are evil spirits j" and 
then he proceeded to tell us how, on certain occa- 
sions, these evil spirits had come to his house, and 
had given him great trouble. The Chinese present 
listened with much interest to the man's story, and 
appeared to assent to its truthfulness. Indeed, the 
man challenged any one to contradict him, and, 
pointing across the chapel to a young man who stood 
in the aisle, he said : " There is my son, who can 
vouch for the truth of what I say." 

Brother Lo Ting, while preaching in the streets, 
was surrounded by a crowd of Chinese, who said : 
" You say you are not afraid of idols ; we will now 
take you to a temple and you shall break one of the 
idols to pieces, and then we shall see whether it has 
not power to revenge itself." While they were hur- 
rying him along with insults and derisive shouts, he 
said : " I do not fear your idols of wood and stone 
and mud, and will show you that I do not by smash- 
ing any number of them to pieces if you will give me 
a written agreement that I shall not be harmed by 
any man for so doing. I'll risk the gods, but I dare 
not risk you." The crowd dropped off and let him 



BOX FEOM HOME. 267 

go. Brother Hu long-Mi, our first Chinese itinerant, 
stated that last Sunday, while in the country preach- 
ing to our little class of Church members, his heart 
sank within him to see the multitudes working in the 
fields in all directions where his message could not 
reach them. Soon a violent thunder shower came 
up and drove many of them into the house where he 
was preaching. He made them sit down, and 
for once he preached to a large congregation of 
them. 

The following graphic sketch is from the pen of 
the Rev. Otis Gibson, of the Methodist Episcopal 
mission at Euhchau : 

"Brother Martin brought us a box from our 
friends, and I am sure some of your readers would 
have been amused could they have seen the perform- 
ances when the box was opened. 1. A bonnet for 
Mrs. Gibson. Just the thing, how well it fits, what 
a beauty ! I was wondering what I was to do for a 
bonnet, and here is one to hand, trimmings and all. 
2. A dress pattern. Better than all my fears ; thank 
God for friends. 3. 'What's that?' says Willie. 
' Jacket and pants for you, my boy.' ' Just a fit.' 
' How could they know that Willie was just so tall V 
1 And here is a jacket and apron for Eddie.' On 
they go, and then such running and strutting and 
jumping. Eddie, who cannot run so fast as Willie, 
made up in screaming and laughing. He don't 
speak English, but he rattled off the Chinese like a 
native. His jacket was ' ching ho,' (first-rate) ; he 
was ' ting huang he,' (greatly delighted.) These 
new things were ' foe chay,' (a splendid affair,) and 



268 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 

so they ran and jumped and crowed, and seemed to 
be as nappy as children born in happy America." 

We are indebted to the Rev. Jnstns Doolittle, of 
the American Board mission at Fuhchau, for the fol- 
lowing interesting account of two of the methods 
employed by the Chinese of that city for ascertaining 
the will of the gods : 

" Pah-lah-teng. — This expression denotes a very 
singular method (in some respects analogous to spirit- 
rapping, as practiced in the United States) of con- 
sulting some god, used either in a temple, or, more 
commonly, in a private house. It is usually per- 
formed in the evening, generally more as a matter of 
friendship and of favor to some one than as a way of 
earning money on the part of the operators. A pres- 
ent of food, or of something else, is often given them 
by the one who invites their assistance. Two per- 
formers are required besides the one who desires 
to inquire of the god. One of these takes his seat 
on a chair before the table on which incense and 
candles are burning, placed in front of the idol, or 
something which represents it. The other man seizes 
a pencil and draws a kind of charm on a piece of 
yellow paper. He then sets it on fire by one of the 
lighted candles, and, while burning, moves it gently 
up and down in front of the person seated. The ob- 
ject of this is to expel all defiling influences from 
him, and prepare his body to become the temporary 
residence of the god invoked. He now rises from 
the chair and receives from his companion a stick 
of lighted incense, which he clasps in both hands, 
and holds calmly before his breast, while he remains 



CHINESE DIVINATION. 269 

standing with his eyes closed and his back turned 
toward the table. The other person now begins 
to entwine the fingers of both his own hands to- 
gether in a certain manner believed to be peculiarly 
pleasing to that particular god. He soon approaches 
the other one, and with a sudden motion throws his 
hands, with fingers thus interlocked, out toward his 
face, very much as though he was going to strike him. 
This motion separates the fingers, which he again 
interlaces in a similar manner, and which he again 
throws out toward him. This operation is repeated 
several times, being regarded as very efficacious in 
procuring a visit from the god. The person whose 
eyes are shut during this ceremony soon gives what 
is supposed to be unmistakable evidence of being 
possessed by some supernatural and invisible power. 
His body sways back and forth in an unusual manner. 
The stick of incense falls from his grasp, and he be- 
gins to step about with the peculiar stride, and 
assume the peculiar attitude and appearance belong- 
ing to the god. This is considered an infallible proof 
of the actual presence of the god in the body of the 
medium. Sometimes, however, it is said, some one 
of the attendants of the god comes in his stead, which 
is made evident by the medium assuming the attitude 
appropriate to such or such an attending spirit. If 
the individual on whose account the presence of the 
god is invoked insists on having the principal or 
master divinity himself come to consult, the medium 
after a short time usually assumes the manners be- 
longing to the god invoked, as a token that he has 
arrived. The suppliant now advances, and with 



270 JOURNAL, TBANSLATTONS, ETC. 

three sticks of lighted incense in his hands, bows 
down on his knees before the medinm and begs him 
to be seated. After he has seated himself the sup- 
pliant states the object in regard to which he has 
sought an audience with the god. A conversation 
often ensues between the two parties on the subject, 
the one professing to give the information desired, 
and the other receiving it with reverence, humility, 
and gratitude. Sometimes, however, the god, using 
the mouth of the medium, gives the suppliant a sound 
scolding for invoking his aid to attain unworthy or 
unlawful ends, and sometimes he positively declines 
to communicate the desired information. At the 
close of the interview the medium apparently falls 
asleep for a few minutes. On awaking some tea is 
given him to drink, and he soon becomes himself 
again. It is said that very many adopt this method 
of learning the way to recover from sickness, and 
also j;o acquire knowledge to be used in a particular 
kind of gambling or lottery. 

" Kaung- Ki. — This phrase denotes a method of 
consulting the gods by means of a kind of pen, which 
traces the oracle on sand. The whole pen consists of 
two pieces of wood. The larger piece, which usually 
is between two and three feet long, is always made 
of willow, peach, or mulberry wood. Its shape is 
like a farmer's drag, or the capital letter V, being 
cut out of a very crooked branch, or a branch in 
connection with the trunk of the tree. The front 
end, or the point of this draglike stick, is usually, 
perhaps always, carved in imitation of the head of the 
Chinese dragon. A small piece of hard wood, of one 



CHINESE DIVINATION. 271 

of the three kinds above specified, about five or six 
inches long, is inserted under the front point, and at 
right angles to it, giving the whole utensil the 
general appearance of a very small drag having only 
one front tooth. 

" "When one wishes to consult a god by this means 
he makes his wish known to some one belonging to a 
society or company established for the purpose of 
facilitating such consultation. These societies are 
said to be numerous at Fuhchau. A table is placed 
immediately before the image of the god, or his 
representative. On this table, besides the candles 
and incense, are arranged some fresh flowers and 
some tea or wine ; some mock-money is provided to 
be burnt at the proper time. In front of this table, 
and further from the idol, is placed another table, 
having upon it a wooden platter about three or four 
feet long by two feet wide, and several inches deep, 
which is nearly filled with dry sand. After the in- 
cense and the candles have been lighted the suppliant 
kneels down and states his request with the usual 
ceremonies. Having risen from his knees, some 
paper charms are set on fire, and, while burning, 
they are brandished over the pen, the sand, and the 
two persons who are to hold the pen, for the purpose 
of purifying them all. These men, standing with the 
table which has the platter of sand upon it between 
them, and with their backs to the idol, silently and 
reverently take hold of the draglike utensil, one at 
each side, in such a manner that the end of the tooth 
or the pen under its front point shall rest in the sand. 
A peculiar kind of charm is now lighted and placed 



272 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 

in the censer standing on the table before the image, 
in order to purify it. Another is bnrned in some place 
near by, open or exposed to the direct light of the 
heavens. This is designed to canse the god to de- 
scend and enter the pen and deliver its oracles in 
writing. If he does not soon indicate his presence 
another charm is burned. His presence is manifested 
by a slow movement of the point of the pen tracing 
characters on the sand. After writing a line or two 
on the sand the movement ceases, and the characters 
there written are transferred to paper. After this, 
if the oracle is unfinished, another line is written, 
and so on till the pen entirely ceases its motion, 
which signifies that the spirit of the god has taken 
its departure from the pen. All that now remains 
to be done is to ascertain the meaning of the oracle, 
which not unfrequently is found to be a difficult 
task. Sometimes it is given in poetry, with allusions 
to ancient times and personages, or it is written in 
some ancient form of the Chinese character, not in 
common use at the present day, or in an abbreviated 
running hand. Sometimes the oracle, as in ancient 
times in Greece, has a double sense, or several am- 
biguous meanings. The suppliant has no resource 
but to get the best meaning he can from the coveted 
response of the idol he importuned. It is said that men 
of the literary class are more in the habit of appealing 
to the gods by the use of this method than others." 

The following are given as specimens of Chinese 
proclamations. The first was issued soon after the 
foreign tea trade was opened at Fuhchau. 



VICEEOY'S PROCLAMATION. 273 

" Wcmg, President of the Board of "War, Imperial 
Censor, Viceroy of the Fuh-kien and Cheh-kien 
Provinces, charged with military affairs, pay of the 
troops, salt department, etc., and Zu, Privy Coun- 
selor, Imperial Yice-censor, Lientenant-governor of 
the Fuh-kien Province, etc., make this important and 
clear proclamation. 

"With regard to the teas grown in the Fnh-kien 
province, it has been the custom for merchants from 
Kiangsi, Canton, and other provinces, to transport 
their funds, at the commencement of each tea season, 
by way of Ho-Jceu, into the tea region to purchase 
teas, and from thence the teas have been forwarded 
to the different provinces for sale. But in the third 
year of Hienfung, (1853,) in consequence of the irrup- 
tion of the rebels into the Honan province, this route 
was broken up, so that the merchants could not pass 
that way. We therefore memorialized the throne, 
begging that the restrictions on trade at this port 
(Fuhchau) might be removed temporarily. Thus it 
has happened that the merchants now bring their 
funds to, Fuhchau ; and from this point pass up into 
the tea region to purchase their teas, which they then 
bring to Fuhchau. There are, it is true, rapids and 
shoals in the up-river channel, but still the route is 
very plain and short in comparison with the routes to 
Shanghai and Canton. The difference in the difficul- 
ties of transportation fs very great, and the transit 
charges by the Fuhchau route are much less than by 
the other routes. Besides, when the teas reach Fuh- 
chau they can at once be packed and shipped for 
sea without paying duties at the custom-houses along 

18 



274 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 

the old routes. As a consequence, the duties on teas 
are rapidly diminishing, while the gains of the mer- 
chants have largely increased. In view of this deple- 
tion of the imperial revenue, we memorialized the 
throne, begging that custom-houses might be estab- 
lished at suitable points ^on the route to Fuhchau, 
thus replenishing the government treasury. To this 
memorial we have the imperial sanction, and accord- 
ingly we have appointed officers to take charge of 
the matter. 

" Since all the people are nourished by the fruits 
of the emperor's soil, and their feet stand upon it ; and 
whereas the present military expenses of the empire 
are very great, while the imperial revenue is much di- 
minished, you, the people, would rejoice to aid his ma- 
jesty with your contributions of money ; how much 
more then should you cheerfully comply with the imper- 
ial commands, when they only require that, instead of 
the former transit duties on - teas passing to Canton or 
Shanghai, where the route is lined with custom-houses, 
you now pay the prescribed duties in this province. 
And whether the duty now levied is a little more or 
less than the amount collected on the other routes, it 
is certain that, being relieved from the heavy charges 
for land or water carriage which you paid on the 
other routes, you still gain largely by the change. 
This is another instance of the imperial favor and is 
truly no trifling boon. 

" We regard you all as possessing a correct moral 
sentiment, and believe you to be entirely unwilling 
to chaffer and banter with the government in the 
matter of its revenue. If you say that by paying this 



CUEEENCY PEOCLAMATION. 275 

duty you are compelled to demand a higher price for 
your teas, you ought to remember that by selling 
your teas within the province producing them you 
avoid all the cost and risk of transporting them to 
distant ports, and thus, after all, you are able to offer 
your teas in Fuhchau at a lower figure than they can 
be purchased' at any other port. Thus the purchasers 
of your teas do not suffer. Let there be no unwill- 
ingness or deception in this matter. Let all obey." 

"Hienfung, fifth year, sixth moon, tenth day." 
[July 23, 1855.] 

During 1857 the currency of Fuhchau was in a 
most unsatisfactory state. The supply of copper 
cash, which is the circulating medium throughout the 
empire, was entirely inadequate to the demand ; the 
government bank failed, and great distress prevailed 
among the people. The government authorities 
issued numerous proclamations on the subject, of one 
of which we offer the reader the following transla- 
tion: 

" Wang, President of the Board of War, Yiceroy 
of the Fuh-kien and Cheh-kien provinces, makes this 
proclamation in reply to the memorial presented by 
of the district. 

" The authorities of the Fuh-kien province estab- 
lished the government bank in Fuhchau to circulate, for 
general use, all the varieties of paper currency. It was 
conceived that as silver is scarce, this paper money 
might supply the deficiency, thus affording the peo- 
ple a medium of exchange for the transaction of busi- 



276 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 

ness ; and certainly, whether we consider the conven- 
ience of the people or the prosperity of the govern- 
ment, this plan is the best that can possibly be 
devised. 

"When the Kiangsi thieves entered the Fuh-kien 
province the people of Fuhchau became greatly 
alarmed, and daily bonght np the silver, in a clandes- 
tine manner, to hide it away, thns causing a sudden 
rise in its market value. Merchants also, when they 
brought rice to this city for sale, refused to take any- 
thing but silver for it ; and the people, speculating as 
to the supply of food for the future, seemed actually 
to fear they should all starve sitting on their seats. 

" Sincerely desirous of understanding the wants of 
the people, and anxious to save them, we issue orders 
with this proclamation to the provincial treasurer, di- 
recting him to transfer to the government bank a 
supply of silver for general circulation. Besides, we 
are arranging that the receipts of the custom-houses 
shall be used for purchasing rice to be sold to the 
people at a cheap rate. We have already arranged 
everything for meeting the demands of the present 
emergency. 

" With regard to the scarcity of copper cash, we 
reply that an officer has been already sent to Cheh- 
Jcien to buy a large supply of copper for coining, and 
we have also ordered the government bank to com- 
mence at once the coining of a new supply of copper 
cash. 

" As it regards your suggestions about ' deepening 
the moats, strengthening the walls, and stationing 
troops at all important points to protect the city,' we 



ITINERATING. 277 

have to say that these matters belong entirely to us, 
and you need not waste your words about them. 

" You state that • the government bank paper does 
not circulate in the country; and that, when the 
-people offer it to the government officials in payment 
of taxes, they will take it only at a discount of from 
fifty to seventy per cent., and that the traders all 
follow this precedent.' If these statements are cor- 
rect, those parties are surely acting in a most detest- 
able manner. We instantly command the treasurer 
to order all government officials to cease utterly this 
villainous practice of discounting the government pa- 
per. All officials who shall dare to offend in this 
matter we shall punish without the least leniency. 
Yiolate not this proclamation." 

" Ilienfung, seventh year, third moon, twenty-fourth day." 
[May 16, 1857.) 

The following extracts, from the recent letters of 
brethren connected with the Methodist Episcopal 
Mission in Fuhchau, will give the reader some idea 
of itinerant life in China. 

Rev. Dr. Wentworth writes : " On last Sabbath it 
came my turn, in the two weeks' circuit plan, to go to 
the country appointment established a few weeks 
ago. On Saturday I took passage in a native boat 
up the river eight or ten miles, and then struck off 
on foot into the country five or six more. In a little 
gorge among the mountains lies a hamlet composed 
of a few farm-houses. Some of the occupants heard 
of Jesus and the new religion, came to Fuhchau, be- 
came inquirers, and invited us to their home in the 



278 JOUKNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 

country. It has resulted in a regular appointment, 
the baptism of seven or eight, and the waking up of 
a spirit of inquiry about the new doctrines that is 
spreading far and wide among the rural population. 
The people, men and women, were at work in the 
fields when I and my native exhorter arrived. They 
got us dinner about four o'clock. It was boiled rice 
served in bowls, with several kinds of stale fish, and 
greens for seasoning, coarse and unsavory fare to a 
foreign palate. I have dined on johnny cakes, cold 
and hot, overdone and underdone, without any other 
accompaniments than raw coffee or cold water, in 
the rocky districts of 'New England, the woods of 
northern New York, the prairies of Illinois, and the 
hither banks of the Mississippi. I thought such 
fare coarse, but there was an element of savoriness 
about it that does not pertain to the best cookery of 
the Chinese. Their highest culinary efforts are in 
the line of grease and garlic, and it needs a strong 
stomach and strong olfactory powers to satisfy hun- 
ger with their villainous preparations. I ate with 
chop-sticks, to the amusement of the brethren, who 
nevertheless were officiously kind in teaching me how 
to hold the instruments, and do away ,with my un- 
christian awkwardness in exercising the ' nimble boys.' 
What is the use of cutlery and plated forks, when a 
man can take his food into his mouth, without burn- 
ing his fingers, with a couple of sticks that cost noth- 
ing compared with these expensive luxuries. What 
a demand there would be for steel and silver if the 
Celestials were to be so far Christianized as to eat 
with knives and forks like the rest of the world. 



ITINERATING. 279 

What an impulse would be given to the manufacture 
of cups and saucers, and spoons, and table linen and 
soap. 

" At night I was laid on a board to sleep, but kept 
awake till after twelve o'clock by a discussion in the 
next room between my exhorter and a well-dressed 
intelligent gentleman, inquiring about the doctrines, 
but troubled about the fact if they were true, that 
his ancestors and parents had gone down to the 
grave and into the other world without the hope of 
salvation. 

"At nine o'clock on Sunday morning the room 
was filled with a respectable and attentive congrega- 
tion, who listened to a sermon, and all spoke in class- 
meeting at its conclusion. From this we went three 
or four miles to another settlement of newly baptized 
Christians, where we had another sermon, followed 
by a class and inquiry meeting. The sun was still 
high in the heavens, and I proposed that we go to 
the next village. We went to one where no for- 
eigner had been before, and preached in the street to 
crowds. 

"A popular objection and report among the na- 
tives is, that we give three dollars a month to those 
who will embrace our doctrines. Our exhorter re- 
pelled it with righteous vehemence. 'I,' said he, 
' live in Fuhchau, at Iongtau. I invite all to come 
and see me at my house. I am a painter on glass, 
and support myself and family with the labors of my 
own hand, and preach on Sundays besides.' 

" From thence we went to another village, and took 
our stand in a temple. I get one of the young con- 



280 JOUKNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 

verts to talk a while. The people were in the fields 
at work. So we sent out an appointment for even- 
ing, obtained some candles, lighted np the temple, 
and proceeded to hold Christian services right in the 
presence of the mnd gods of Bndhism. A large con- 
gregation gathered, and, as a preliminary exercise, 
both preacher and people stuck their long bamboo 
pipes into the candles, and then, puffing like locomo- 
tives, sat down under a cloud of smoke, and took 
their places to listen to the proclamation of the Gos- 
pel. At the conclusion of the services I answered 
questions for an hour touching foreigners and their 
ways and doctrines." 

Rev. S. L. Baldwin also writes : " On Saturday, 
April 23, 1859, I accompanied Brother Gibson to 
our ' Peach Farm ' appointment in the country, and 
united with our brethren there in various prayer- 
meetings, class-meetings, and more public services on 
that day and the Sabbath following. I was very 
much pleased with the serious deportment and earn- 
est manner of the brethren there. 

" On the seventeenth of May I repeated the Lord's 
Prayer for the first time at our Chinese family de- 
votion. 

" On the first of June I started on an expedition in- 
to the country, in company with Mr. Nichols, a pious 
young man from Boston, and Akaw, one of our na- 
tive converts. "We ascended the river Min in a boat 
to the distance of sixty miles, and reached Chuikan 
about two A. M. on June 2d. "We rested in our 
boat until sunrise, and then traveled some eight or 
ten miles, when we halted under the shade of a large 



ITINEEATING. 281 

tree. Here we spent the heat of the day, the people 
gathering aronnd ns from all quarters, and receiving 
willingly Christian books and tracts which we pre- 
sented them, and which were explained to some ex- 
tent by Akaw. Toward evening we resumed our 
chairs, and traveled to Keukan, ten or twelve miles 
farther up the river. Here we secured rest for the 
night on a large covered boat at the beach. Akaw 
held conversations on Christianity with several of the 
boatmen during the evening, and in the morning we 
left them a supply of tracts. Crossing the river we 
made our way to Sangtau, a place which had never 
before been visited by foreigners. We rested during 
the day in a grove of camphor-trees just back of the 
village, and the whole population came out to see us, 
manifesting the greatest curiosity in regard to our ap- 
pearance, clothing, etc. They were very civil, how- 
ever, and listened attentively to a long talk from 
Akaw, who distributed a liberal supply of books 
among them. One old man invited him to his house, 
and talked with him for more than two hours about 
the Christian religion. On leaving this place we 
traveled to Nangkan, where we took a boat to Chuikan, 
and there rejoined our own boat. 

" While ascending the hill at the latter place some 
boys threw stones at us, and called us ' huang-kiangsj 
which was the only instance of incivility we encoun- 
tered during our absence. 

" On Saturday, June 4th, we descended the river, 
stopping at the village at the 'upper bridge,' where 
we distributed a quantity of tracts, and reaching 
home in safety at six P. M. We trust that some of 



282 JOURNAL, TRANSLATIONS, ETC. 

the seed thus scattered by the 'wayside' may yet 
spring up to the glory of God." 

In further illustration of itinerant life in China we 
present another extract from a recent letter by the 
Rev. Dr. Wentworth : 

" Yesterday, at half-past six o'clock, directly after 
dinner, I started on foot for Nanseu, a large village 
to the southwest of this that has been a few times 
visited by missionaries. 

"Brother Ting went along to do the preaching. 
His son, my present table boy, went to act as stew- 
ard for the wants of the outer man. My cooly, a 
great strapping fellow, went 'loaded to the keel' 
with books and tracts for distribution ; and finally I 
went to attract the attention of the natives, and give 
them something on which to expend abuse. 

"A heavy thunder shower was raging in the west 
as we started, and our course lay right into the teeth 
of it; nevertheless the sun was vailed in, and this 
was favorable ; so we put out, thinking to run into 
any one of the numerous huts along the road in case 
we got caught by it. Six miles of vigorous walking 
brought us to the head of this island, near where you 
and I went with Mr. Clark three years ago. Here 
we took a boat, and steered away for our desti- 
nation. 

" It was manned by an old woman, a young man 
and his father, the young man's wife, and a sick boy. 
After sculling, and rowing, and poling, and sailing, 
and tacking until pitch dark, the storm, that had 
been long gathering, burst upon us in all the fury 
of wind and thunder, lightning and rain, when we 



A TYPHOON. 283 

were still about a mile distant from our landing-place. 
I tried to induce the Chinese to proceed. ' It was too 
dark,' 'the typhoon was upon them,' 'they must 
lie to.' So the boat went to anchor and the ' Celes- 
tials ' to their suppers, which they ate as quietly as 
if riding at anchor in a smooth bay, instead of being 
tossed by the wild fury of the elements in savage 
commotion. As is often the case with thundergusts 
the first gust was the worst. The water came through 
the basket-roof of our boat like a cotton tabernacle 
at a camp-meeting. 

"I covered myself with my sleeping blanket and 
kept dry. In an hour the gust had spent its princi- 
pal fury, though the lightnings glared and thunders 
growled as fiercely as ever. The boatmen had fin- 
ished their supper, and I persuaded them to resume 
their setting-poles that we might at least spend the 
rest of the night on terra-firma. In a few minutes I 
'walked the plank' by a gleam of lightning, and 
clambered a crazy flight of steps up the bank to 
what seemed a temple on the hither shore. 

" By the light of a pine stick our party proceeded 
to explore the interior. It was floorless, and tenant- 
ed by bats, and carpeted and curtained with no end 
of dirt and cobwebs. A couple of men had laid a 
door lengthwise, and laid themselves lengthwise upon 
it for the night. A stage occcupied one end for the- 
atrical representations, and it was thought this was 
our only chance; but the men attempted to sweep 
it, and thereby raised a cloud of dust which rendered 
breathing impossible. 'Does no priest live here?' 
we asked. 'None.' 'Who keeps the temple?' 'A 



284 JOURNAL, TRANSACTIONS, ETC. 

cooly sleeping over yonder.' '"Well, route him out; 
we must have his room.' And out he came, not well 
pleased at being disturbed in his slumbers, but set 
himself vigorously to work to put the filthy place in 
order. It was about ten feet square, with no floor. 
My bedstead was a door, the bed two yards of rush 
matting, and my pillow a pile of books. Brother 
Ting and his boy made a bed of another door in the 
same closet, and the cooly slept as he could catch 
it with the sexton outside. The rain continued, and 
paid its attentions to us in our beds, but did no 
serious damage. We slept soundly, and I was 
awake by daylight, and roused my forces for 
marching. 

" Three miles travel across the paddy fields or rice 
flats, over stone-paved causeways worn as smooth as 
glass by the travel of unnumbered generations, 
brought us in sight of the village we were in quest 
of, beautifully situated at the foot of a hill crowned 
with pines, behind which rose a mountain in the 
shape of an inverted bowl, but jagged like crystali- 
zation from base to summit. It was a lovely spot, 
but all the romance vanished the moment we had 
crossed a substantial stone bridge, and entered the 
narrow, crowded, filthy Chinese streets. 

" We instantly had a crowd at our heels, shouting 
'whang-kiang,' 'foreign devil,' in all the tones and 
key-notes of human passion, surprise, astonishment, 
fear, pity, contempt, insolence, and bravado. We 
took our stand behind the counter of a respectable 
shop in the main street, an overwhelming crowd 
collected in front, blocking up the street, and render- 



ITINERATING. 285 

rng passage nearly impossible, when Brother Ting 
began to preach and peddle books at a cash or two 
apiece, a mere nominal value, not a hundredth 
part of what they cost. I put in a word now and 
then as I was able, though my rude brouge was 
more frequently assailed with shouts of laughter 
and mockery from the boys than otherwise. In a 
few minutes he had sold half his stock. Meanwhile 
my boy and the cooly got us breakfast in the book 
shop. 

" I ate a plate of boiled rice with a Chinese porce- 
lain spoon, and a slice or two of fried pork with my 
fingers ; this, with a few native cakes, a bowl of tea, 
and a cut of watermelon, made a sumptuous repast, 
the whole of which cost ten cents. 

"Removing hence, we took another stand on a 
covered stone bridge used as a market, and disposed 
of nearly all the remaining stock of books, Brother 
Ting 'preaching Jesus' all the time as fast as his 
tongue would wag, and as loud as he could, halloo in 
the midst of a babel like that of Broadway or the 
polls of an American election — turbid waters in 
which to sow seed. 

" Tired at last of the noise, and attracted by the 
beauty of the hill of pines, I bade my boy follow me, 
and started off at a round pace, hoping to get clear 
of the annoyances that beset us. We were soon out 
of town and climbing the beautiful hill, but with a 
crowd of a hundred men, women, and boys at our 
heels, and more than all, the hill itself was covered 
with grass and faggot gatherers, so that a head 
seemed to pop out from behind every tree and bush. 



286 JOURNAL, TRANSACTIONS, ETC. 

I returned to town in disgust, and ordered a retreat 
at once. 

" In a short time we were once more on board our 
boat and on our own island, where the people are 
more accustomed to us, and a little more civil. Walk- 
ing six miles in the sun opened the pores, and I 
reached home drenched in perspiration from head to 
heel. A bath, change of clothes, and a Christian 
dinner made all right again." 



THE PEACH FAKM. 287 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE PEACH FARM. 

The influence of the gracious revival in Fuhchau 
soon extended to the country. Our young converts, 
filled with zeal for the cause of God, began to itiner- 
ate through the surrounding cities and towns, distrib- 
uting Christian books and conversing with the people 
about the new doctrines. Brother Hu Po Mi was 
foremost in this corps of pioneers. He was admira- 
bly fitted for this work ; possessing a fine personal 
appearance, a clear and forcible style of address, and 
a hearty Christian experience. In a secluded valley 
among the mountains, some fifteen miles northwest 
from Fuhchau, there is a straggling village contain- 
ing perhaps sixty families. Prom a fancied resem- 
blance of the valley at this point to a peach, the 
village has been named the "Peach Farm" On 
the outskirts of the village stands an old farm-house 
occupied by the Li family. The ancestors of the 
family, about one hundred years ago, had lived in 
the Fing-hua prefecture, some forty miles southward 
from Fuhchau, and were acquainted with the Hu 
family, who also at that time lived in Fing-hua. 
These two families moved into the Fuhchau prefect- 
ure, Mr. Hu locating his family in Fuhchau city, 



288 THE PEACH FAEM. 

and Mr. Li settling with his family in this quiet 
valley. For many years subsequent to this removal, 
the acquaintance between the two families was kept 
np by a mutual interchange of social courtesies and 
kind offices, but' during the present generation this 
acquaintance had almost entirely ceased. When the 
Hu family became Christians, they soon visited the 
Li family, and urged them to seek salvation in the 
name of Jesus. Brother Hu Po Mi was active in 
this good work, and presented the subject with all 
the ardor of a young convert. His efforts were not 
fruitless ; the younger members of the Li family 
began to attend our meetings in Fuhchau, and soon 
they presented themselves as candidates for Christian 
instruction and baptism. Encouraged by their mani- 
fest sincerity and earnestness, I resolved to visit them 
at their home in the valley, taking with me Brother 
Hu Po Mi as companion and guide. I shall not 
readily forget the incidents of this visit. February 
10, 1859, we went on board a small native boat, and 
started up the river on our proposed trip. Having 
wind and tide in our favor we made good progress, 
passed under the "upper bridge" some six miles 
from Fuhchau, and soon landed at the salt-boat an- 
chorage, three miles above the "upper bridge." 
Here we left the boat, and started on foot over the 
rice-fields for the Peach Farm. After walking 
about five miles through the most picturesque scen- 
ery, we reached the entrance to the valley. Crossing 
a bold spur of the mountain, our path led us along 
its side, with the thickly wooded heights above, and 
the quiet valley spread out at our feet below. I was 



THE VALLEY. 289 

charmed with the place. Its silence furnished such 
a grateful change from the jostling crowds of the 
thronged city and the vociferating boat population 
on the river, that I could almost fancy myself enter- 
ing a new world, fresh from the plastic hand of the 
great Creator. The greatest width of the valley does 
not exceed half a mile, while in some places it con- 
tracts to a mere ravine. Human industry and skill 
have been busy, bringing under cultivation every foot 
of arable land, and, by terracing the mountain accliv- 
ities, extending the domain of agriculture to appar- 
ently inaccessible altitudes. A stream of water flows 
through the valley, and I was agreeably surprised to 
find on its bank a veritable water-power grist-mill in 
active operation. The machinery and building were 
of a rude character, but still all the essential elements 
of the mill were present, and the flour it turned out 
was of a fair quality for China. Farm-houses were 
sparsely scattered through the valley, some almost 
hidden by trees and others standing out boldly to 
view on elevated knolls, while light wreaths of smoke 
at the farther end of the valley indicated the position 
of the Peach Farm. It was about four o'clock in the 
afternoon when we arrived at the house of our friends 
on the outskirts of the Peach Farm. We found only 
the female members of the family at home ; all the 
men and boys were out deer-stalking on the mount- 
ains. Toward nightfall the hunters returned, and it 
was really refreshing to observe their rustic habits 
and receive their cordial welcome. Notice of our 
arrival was circulated through the valley, the prin- 
cipal room of the house was arranged for preaching, 



290 THE PEACH FAKM. 

and about' dark the congregation began to assemble. 
Tea and tobacco were in constant requisition for 
some time after we commenced our exercises, the eti- 
quette of the place demanding that each neighbor, 
on his arrival, should at once be waited on with 
these refreshments. "We talked on notwithstanding 
these interruptions, and gradually the audience be- 
came quiet and attentive. Brother Hu and I spoke 
alternately, varying the exercises occasionally by a 
conversational episode, by a brief discussion of an 
objection started by some one in the congregation, 
or by calling on one of the candidates for baptism to 
tell his experience or lead in prayer. The scene was 
to me one of strange, exciting interest. It was a rare 
thing to see a foreigner in this retired valley, and the 
simple-minded rustics could scarcely credit their 
senses when they found themselves actually in the 
presence of a genuine " outsider." Their surprise 
was not diminished when they heard me address 
them in their own language, and tell them of God, 
and salvation, and heaven. After the numerous dis- 
appointments and rebuffs I had experienced in pre- 
senting the G-ospel message to the Chinese, it was 
most cheering to feel that now I was under a Chi- 
nese roof where Jesus was an invited and honored 
guest, and that I was preaching to persons willing 
to accept the great salvation. It was past midnight 
when we retired ; with me, however, sleep was out of 
the question. The scenes through which I had just 
passed kept whirling through my mind, till the cries 
of the early hunters and the light streaming in 
through the roof told me a new day had opened. 



A GENEKAL ALAKM. 291 

I spent part of the next day visiting, the families 
of the neighborhood. Some of the people were bit- 
terly opposed to the new doctrines, others seemed to 
be utterly indifferent on the subject of religion ; while 
a few expressed an intelligent interest in the message 
I tried to deliver. I was gratified to find that in 
every family I visited there were some who had 
heard something about Christianity, and were able to 
state some of its prominent doctrines. In the Li 
family, where I was entertained during the visit, nine 
persons gave in their names as candidates for bap- 
tism. Encouraged by the promising state of things 
in the valley, we decided to take it into the regular 
work, and accordingly made an appointment for 
preaching every fortnight in the house of old 
Father Li. 

The genuineness of the work thus auspiciously 
begun was soon put to the test. The enemy, so long 
in undisputed possession of this territory, had no idea 
of yielding without a struggle. A general alarm was 
sounded through the valley concerning the new doc- 
trines, and earnest consultations were held as to the 
most effectual method of averting the apprehended 
danger. Some proposed to check the evil in the bud 
by entering in their courts of justice criminal charges 
against every Chinese who should embrace the new 
doctrines. The advocates of this plan stated that it 
had formerly been tried with great success against 
the Roman Catholics, and that it would certainly 
prove equally successful in the present case. At first 
the plan suggested met with great favor; but soon 
unexpected difficulties arose when they proceeded to 



292 THE- PEACH FARM. 

act upon it. When these would-be prosecutors ap- 
peared at the government courts to enter their com- 
plaints they were told that the former modes of pro- 
cedure against Christianity would not suit in these 
days, that foreigners now had treaties with the gov- 
ernment of China, and that it was no uncommon 
thing at the present time for Chinese to become 
Christians. Foiled in this effort to check the spread 
of the new doctrines, they then proposed a more pri- 
vate plan of procedure, and soon our catechumens 
found all the heathen members of their respective 
families arrayed against them in bitter, persistent 
hostility, and employing every form of annoyance 
arid intimidation to deter them from embracing 
Christianity. This plan also resulted in failure, and 
in a fit of desperation some rowdies of the neighbor- 
hood proposed heating the new doctrines out of the 
catechumens, and magnanimously offered themselves 
for the enterprise. This proposition was quite popu- 
lar in many quarters ; but some of the more respecta- 
ble and influential people of the valley denounced it 
as outrageous and unreasonable, and hence the 
scheme was abandoned. As a dernier resort, it was 
now proposed to create a public sentiment against 
Christianity, and thus coerce the catechumens into 
submission. To accomplish this, every suitable occa- 
sion, public or private, was employed to extol the ex- 
cellence and power of the idols they had so long wor- 
shiped. " Every good thing we possess," said these 
advocates of heathenism, "has been conferred on us 
by these idols, and we ought to worship them. More- 
over," they continued, " the idols are highly incensed 



PROGRESS OF THE STRUGGLE. 293 

in consequence of the denunciations poured upon 
them by the Christians, and soon unheard-of calami- 
ties will come upon all the people of the valley." 
Our catechumens conducted themselves with much 
prudence during this time of excitement. Every 
failure of their enemies to harass them served only 
to establish them the more firmly in the principles of 
their new faith, and to all threats and maledictions 
they replied by blameless lives or by the "soft an- 
swer" which "turneth away wrath." Time passed 
'on, and still, notwithstanding the declared anger of 
the idols, there was no deviation from the ordinary 
course of nature. The sun, moon, stars, and seasons 
passed through their courses as of yore ; no floods or 
storms devastated their fields ; no pestilence invaded 
their dwellings. In the Li family heathenism open- 
ed the struggle with considerable vigor but soon 
was compelled to change its tactics. The contest in 
this family was very interesting, and the following 
brief sketch of it will be gratifying, I think, to the 
reader. I give the incident just as it was narrated to 
me, without attempting to explain how the parties 
communicated with the spirits : 

The heathen members of this family declared that 
when the foreign missionary entered their house the 
•spirits of the idols all ran away; and hence on each 
occasion of our leaving the premises these members 
of the family would go up on the mountain just back 
of the house and beg the spirits to return, assuring 
them the missionary had gone from the place. The 
spirits at first, and for some time subsequently, re- 
sponded to these calls, and resumed their respect- 



294 THE PEACH FARM. 

ive positions on the altar. On the occasion of one 
of onr visits to the place, however, we spoke with 
considerable liberty and power, the congregation was 
unusually solemn, and the exercises were continued 
to a late hour. ISText morning I left for home, and 
after my departure the heathen members of the family 
went out as usual to call back the spirits. To their 
utter astonishment they found the spirits unwilling 
to return. A famous exorcist was then sent for, and 
he tried all his incantations upon the spirits; but, 
strange to say, they still remained incorrigible. To 
all interrogations and entreaties their uniform reply 
was, "Jesus is very powerful, and unless you keep 
him out of the house we dare not re-enter it." Sur- 
prised and confounded by this unexpected occurrence, 
the exorcist and two heathen members of the Li fam- 
ily began to attend our meetings, and attached them- 
selves to our class of candidates for baptism. 

After passing through a course of Christian in- 
struction, and giving satisfactory evidence of their 
fitness for the ordinance, seven of our adult candi- 
dates were approved for baptism, and Sunday, March 
13, 1859, was appointed as the day for administering 
the rite. At an early hour on that day our rude 
chapel was filled with attentive hearers, and after a 
discourse from: "Behold, we have left all and fol- 
lowed thee ; what shall we have, therefore ?" the ap- 
proved candidates were admitted first to baptism and 
then to the Lord's Supper. Let us linger for a 
moment over the material aspects of the scene. Our 
so-called chapel is a small earth-floored room in a 
country farm-house, destitute alike of ceiling or win- 



RUSTIC CHAPEL. 295 

dows. In one corner are piled plows, hoes, drags, 
and other agricultural implements ; at my back stood 
the grim, smoked images, still worshiped by a few 
members of the family ; while scattered round the 
room, on backless benches or on the threshold of the 
door, sat the rustic congregation. The occasion re- 
minded me of the time when in my native land the 
Gospel was preached in log-cabins, country school- 
houses, and tented groves ; and as I thought of the 
rapid process by which those log-cabins had become 
palatial residences, those school-houses beautiful 
church edifices, and those forests populous cities, my 
faith descried the day when the same transformations 
shall appear in China ; and I felt that, despite the 
humble incidents of the present hour, it was a 
glorious privilege to aid in laying on Chinese soil the 
foundation of that kingdom which is to endure for- 
ever. August 21, 1859, five more candidates were 
approved for baptism, an$ admitted by that rite into 
the communion and fellowship of the Christian 
Church, thus increasing o,ur class at the Peach Farm 
to twelve members. 

The following incidents, growing out of our work 
at this appointment, will show that everywhere the 
labors and experiences of the minister of Christ pre- 
serve a wonderful identity. It matters little, indeed, 
where the faithful minister's field of labor may be ; 
whether among the ice-glaciers of the North, or the 
sunny plains of the South, or the broad prairies of 
the "West, or in the old storied lands of the East, his 
work in all its prominent outlines and characteristics 
is ever the same. The great wants of humanity are 



296 THE PEACH FABM. 

not essentially modified by degrees of latitude or 
longtitude ; the text of the Gospel message has been 
authoritatively settled by infinite wisdom, and the 
leading appliances for its propagation are indicated 
by the same high authority. 

One beautiful Sabbath, after concluding our public 
services at the Peach Farm, I went out with some of 
the native brethren to make some pastoral visits. 
Our first call was on an old man who had once ex- 
pressed an interest in the Gospel, but who had grown 
indifferent on the subject, and was now confined to 
his bed by sickness. We found him very low, unable 
to converse or even to think consecutively on any 
subject. He seemed stupefied by the conviction that 
he could not get well. To all our questions and re- 
marks his uniform reply was : " I am old; I am dying 
of old age. The fortune-teller says the turning of 
the spring will decide my fate." I tried in various 
ways to arrest his attention, but in vain. He turned 
his face to the wall and groaned out his melancholy 
refrain : "I am old; I am dying of old age." After 
lying in that position for a few minutes he turned 
himself on the couch, and, fixing on me his dull 
leaden eye, asked : " Who are you ?" 

"It is the foreign missionary," said the brethren. 
" He has come to see you and to tell you about the 
Saviour?" 

"Yes," I added, "I have come to tell you of a 
wonderful Saviour and a glorious home in the skies." 

He looked steadily into my face, as though he wished 
me to go on; but in a moment his mind again wan- 
dered, and, shaking his head, he sighed : " No, no, it 



/ 
TOO LATE — THE SCOFFER. 297 

is of no use ; too late, too late !" and then continued 
muttering to himself in a low, indistinct tone of voice, 
"too late." O what saddening thoughts and remi- 
niscences were called up by the sound of those 
ominous words ! Finding it impossible to converse 
with him, we tried to commend him to God, and 
then with heavy hearts turned away to other duties. 

A five minutes' walk brought us in sight of the 
house of a man notorious throughout the valley as 
the ringleader in everything reckless and wicked. 
The man had attended our services on the forenoon 
of that day, and though he listened respectfully to 
all that was said, yet the contemptuous sneer on his 
countenance, and the jeering remarks he uttered as 
he left the place, indicated the true character of his 
thoughts, and showed but too plainly that a deeply 
rooted hostility to the Gospel rankled in his heart. 
"We approached his dwelling with some trepidation, 
and with many misgivings as to the result of our 
visit. The native brethren, indeed, had tried to 
dissuade me from calling ; but I felt desirous of at 
least trying to lead him to the Saviour. Entering 
the yard in front of his house, we found him sur- 
rounded by his wild companions. Seeing us ap- 
proach, he rose to receive us with an air of assumed 
indifference, for it was evident he felt embarrassed by 
our visit. After interchanging the customary saluta- 
tions we proceeded at once to speak of the Gospel. 

" I have heard my neighbors talk about these new 
doctrines," he replied, " but they don't suit me — they 
are too profound. I am a rough, ignorant man, and 
can never arrive at their meanine;.'" 



298 THE PEACH FARM. 

The brethren spoke of some important Christian 
doctrines, and sought to show their simplicity and 
adaptation to onr wants; bnt he parried all their 
appeals by asserting his inability to comprehend 
them, though any one could see, in a moment, that 
this stupidity was all assumed. 

"And what do you think of your idols?" I in- 
quired, changing the subject. 

"I don't care anything about them," he quickly 
replied. " They don't do any good. All they want 
is something to eat and something to wear. Give 
them a bowl of rice and a suit of paper clothes, and 
they are entirely satisfied." These remarks were 
delivered in a flippant, jocose manner, and called 
forth bursts of laughter from the company. 

"And is it indeed true," I continued, "that your 
idols cannot help you ?" 

" Certainly it is true," he replied. " These idols 
are nothing but wood, or earth, or paper; how can 
they assist us ?" Here he took hold of a small clay 
idol, and tossing it about he continued: "See! the 
thing cannot help itself, how can it help me ?" 

"And is there no power," I asked, " to protect and 
help us ?" 

"I don't know," he replied; "everything is de- 
termined by fate." 

" What is this fate which determines everything ?" 

" I don't know," he replied ; " all I know is, that 
there must be somewhere a power superior to man 
which controls all things." 

It was now sufficiently apparent that the person 
before us was a man of no ordinary shrewdness and 



WHO IS THIS JESUS? 299 

native ability. Pleased with the vigor of his thoughts, 
and wishing to hear him speak further on this topic, 
I asked: 

"What evidence have yon that there is snch a 
power as that to which yon have referred?" 

" Plenty of evidence," he replied ; " yon can see it 
everywhere — in the motions of the heavenly "bodies, 
in the changing seasons, in the phases of human life, 
and in the mysterious phenomena constantly puz- 
zling and alarming us." 

"And does this power concern itself about us and 
our affairs ?" 

"No," he replied. ""We are too insignificant to 
attract its notice. "Why should it, possessing all 
the sources of happiness, concern itself with us or our 
paltry affairs?" 

At this point I interposed some remarks on the 
love of God, as exhibited in the gift of his Son to be 
the Saviour of the world. 

" Yes," joined in one of the brethren, " and now 
Jesus receives sinners and pardons them." 

"And who is this Jesus," he fiercely retorted, 
'who goes about granting instant pardon to every 
rebel who asks him for it, thus thwarting the claims 
of justice, degrading the law of heaven, and throwing 
everything into confusion ?" 

He uttered these words with such vehemence and 
apparent sincerity that it was evident we had touched 
on one of his strong objections to the Gospel. I em- 
braced the opportunity to dwell, at some length, on 
the character of Christ as mediator between God and 
man, and to state as clearly as I could the conditions 



300 THE PEACH FARM. 

on which he is willing to receive and pardon the 
guilty. Apparently satisfied, he then changed his 
ground, and asked, with an air of triumph : " But 
where is Jesus ? I cannot see him ; consequently I 
do not believe there is such a being." 

" Did you ever see the Emperor of China ?" I quietly 
inquired. 

A general laugh from the company anticipated his 
reply, and showed him that even they could now de- 
tect the fallacy of his apparently irresistible argu- 
ment. ' Availing myself of the advantage thus gain- 
ed I turned to more practical subjects, and tried to 
give him some idea of his own sinfulness in the sight 
of God. To my great surprise he promptly respond- 
ed: "What you say is true; I am a bad man; I 
know it, and am neither afraid nor ashamed to ac- 
knowledge it." He uttered these words with so 
much earnestness and apparent sincerity that for a 
moment it seemed as though the Holy Spirit were 
just about to lead him to the Saviour ; but a change 
soon came over him, and, resuming his former reck- 
less manner, he turned aside all my appeals by plead- 
ing old age, ignorance, and the power of habit. 

" Will you allow me to pray with you ?" I inquired 
as we rose to leave. 4 

" Thank you," he replied, " I'd rather not." 

Warmed by our previous conversation, and feeling 
a deep interest in his case, I ventured to urge the 
point; but he persistently refused, and finding that 
my importunity irritated him I desisted. He accom- 
panied us to the gate, invited us to call again, and 
then bade us a pleasant good-by. " Blessed are 



OUR THIRD CALL. 301 

they wlio sow beside all waters," I recited to myself 
as we walked slowly away from this den of wick- 
edness. 

After a brief interval of rest we started to make 
our third call. In a retired cove on the side of the 
monntain stands a solitary farm-honse. One portion 
of it is occupied by a farmer with his family, while 
the other part is the home of a lone widow whom we 
had recently baptized and admitted into the Christian 
Church. A sacred atmosphere seemed to surround 
the place as we approached it, and the scenery was 
so quiet and homelike that it was difficult for me to 
believe myself in a heathen land. Entering the 
dwelling, our good sister received us with a cordial 
welcome. It was most interesting to listen to her 
simple experience. 

"I am so glad you have come," $he said as she 
took a seat beside me. " This is a lonely place, and 
I am sometimes tempted to fear that the idols which 
I have forsaken will in some way injure me. Here 
is where I pray," pointing to a corner of the room ; 
" and at night, when disturbed by unpleasant dreams, 
I get up from my bed, kneel down there, and pray. 
And prayer to Jesus always makes me feel better," 
she added with great earnestness. 

We talked to her for some time about the way of 
salvation through a crucified Redeemer, and then 
proposed prayer. 

"O yes," she quickly replied, "I do want you to 
pray in my house. After you have prayed in it I 
shall feel that it is consecrated to the true God, and 
that henceforth the idols will not dare to enter it." 



302 THE PEACH FARM. 

While engaged in these exercises the farmer came 
in from his work and sat down with ns in the room. 
We conversed with him some time, urging him to 
abandon heathenism and embrace Christianity. He 
listened attentively to all we said on the subject, and 
expressed a desire to become a Christian. "But," 
said he, " I am a poor man, and have a large family 
to support ; I fear I should come to want if I were to 
cease work every seventh day." 

" As to that," I replied, " if you will be diligent in 
business during six days of the week, I believe God 
will not suffer you to starve on Sunday. Besides," I 
continued, "you have now been toiling for perhaps 
fifty years under the fancied protection of your idols, 
and I suspect you are more heavily in debt now than 
you were at the beginning." 

" True," he responded ; " every word you have said 
is true." 

"Then," said I, "just give up this way of living 
and try Christianity." 

" But," he replied, " my landlord says he will turn 
me off the farm if I become a Christian." 

" He'll not do anything of the kind," I said with 
some earnestness, for I had some knowledge of the 
facts in the case ; " and even if he should do so you 
can find as good situations elsewhere." 

" Well, I'll think over the matter," he replied sol- 
emnly, " and you must pray for me." 

We assured him we would do so; and after a 
few months it was our privilege to receive himself 
and wife into Church fellowship. 



THE BIBLE OUR COMPASS. 303 



CHAPTER XVI. 

INCIDENTS. 

"Are tlie Chinese capable of appreciating the 
doctrines of the Bible?" "Can the Chinese be 
converted ?" 

The following incidents are given, partly as answers 
"to these and similar questions which recently have 
been addressed to the writer, and partly as illustra- 
tions of our field and work in China : 

In the autumn of 1859, a few weeks before leaving 
Fuhchau for the United States, I visited our two out- 
stations, Peach Farm and Ngu-kang. After the 
forenoon sermon at the Peach Farm we held the 
usual class-meeting. All the members spoke, giving 
a simple and, to me at least, most interesting account 
of their Christian experience. One brother said the 
Bible, to the Christian, was like the compass to the 
mariner ; and another, carrying out the figure, spoke 
of faith in the Bible as our rudder in the voyage of 
life. Toward the close of the meeting old Father Li 
arose and said : 

"Brethren, I am an old man, too old to think 
clearly and consecutively on any subject. I am not 
able to comprehend everything the Bible contains; 
it is not probable I shall understand all its doctrines 



304 INCIDENTS. 

in this life ;■ but, brethren, I just believe the whole of 
it. Only assure me that what yon say is contained 
in the Bible, and I'll believe every word of it." 

]STever shall I forget the simple earnestness with 
which these words were nttered; and never shall I 
forget the delightful emotions they excited in my 
heart. In what school had the old man learned this 
sublime lesson of faith? I was the more gratified 
with these remarks, because, so far as I could remem- 
ber, I had never presented the subject to him in this 
light, and I could not but feel that this beautiful ex- 
perience was due to the teachings of the Holy Spirit. 

After dinner I walked two miles to the other 
appointment at ISTgu-kang ; and at the conclusion of 
the discourse the members, as usual, remained for 
class-meeting. "When a goodly number had spoken 
old Father Ting arose, and with evident emotion said : 

"What a wonderful mercy it is that I, so old a 
man, have heard and obeyed this glorious Gospel! 
Had I died a few years since, or had this Gospel been 
delayed a few years more in reaching this place, I 
should have been lost forever. Thank God, I am here 
to-day, permitted to hear the joyful sound and to 
believe on the Lord with all my heart ! There are 
many things of which I am ignorant, brethren, but 
this one thing I know : I do love the Saviour, and 
living or dying Pll never leave him /" 

Tears gushed from the old man's eyes as he uttered 
these words, his large frame quivered with emotion, 
and he sank into his seat sobbing like a child. 

At a previous class-meeting held at Ngu-kang, a 
young brother rose to speak. He was a blacksmith, 



THE BLACKSMITH. 305 

had lost his parents years ago, was now the eldest 
member of the family, and had recently embraced 
religion. He said : 

" Some two or three months ago, when I became in- 
terested in these doctrines, my neighbors tried to 
frighten me. They said I would starve if I be- 
came a Christian, for I would not be allowed 
to do any work on Sundays; and that if I did 
really embrace Christianity they would never give 
me any more work. These statements," he con- 
tinued, "startled me at first, and I scarcely knew 
what to do; but after ^ thinking over the matter, 
I concluded that God would take care of me if I 
sincerely tried to obey his will; hence I embraced 
these doctrines, and became a Christian. And now 
what is the result ? Why, with regard to keeping 
the Sabbath, I find that I now do more work in six 
days than formerly I did in seven ; and with regard 
to losing my business, I never had as much work in 
my life as I have had since I became a Christian. 
My shop is frequently crowded with people who bring 
their farming tools to be repaired ; and while I am 
doing their work, they keep me busy answering their 
questions about these new doctrines. I fancy, indeed, 
that some of them bring me their hoes and axes only 
as a pretext for getting into a conversation with me ; 
for I occasionally notice that the tools they bring 
require scarcely any dressing at all." 

The case of this young man is full of interest. 
Before hearing the Gospel he was not able to read a 
word ; but after he commenced attending our meet- 
ings he addressed himself to the task of learning to 

20 



306 INCIDENTS. 

read, and within two months from that time he was 
able to read the entire Gospel of Saint Matthew. 
He possesses a mind of more than ordinary clearness 
and vigor. Some of his prayers and addresses in our 
social meetings are remarkably pertinent and efficient. 
We have already, indeed, designated him the "learned 
blacksmith," and I most earnestly pray that he 
may consecrate all his gifts to the advancement 
of Christ's kingdom in China. I remember his 
rising "on one occasion in class-meeting to narrate 
his experience. Referring to his faith in Christianity, 
he said : 

" Brethren, a man must believe something. What 
a man believes should be good, for a man's practice 
will always approximate his theory. If what a man 
believes is good 3 he will become virtuous ; but if what 
he believes is bad, he will become vicious. Now," 
said he, " just look for a moment at our systems of 
idolatry. Suppose we were to become like the idols 
we worshiped; why, we should be devils incarnate, 
and the world would be made a pandemonium ! 
Hence I conclude that our heathenism is bad. But 
look at Christianity. If we become like Jesus we 
shall possess characters of the highest excellence and 
purity, and the world will be like heaven. Hence I 
conclude Christianity is good, and in believing it we 
are simply obeying the voice of reason." 

During one of our examinations of candidates for 
baptism at Ngu-kang, I observed that one woman 
and some three or four young people had the same 
surname. This circumstance led to the following- con- 
versation between myself and one of the young men : 



FIGHTING FOR THE FAMILY. 307 

" I observe you all have the same surname. Are 
you members of the same family ?" I inquired. 

" Yes," one replied; " this is mother, and these are 
my brothers." 

" "Where is your father ?" I continued. 

" He is at home attending to business." 

" Does he approve of your embracing Christianity V 

" Yes, he is entirely willing." 

" "Why does not your father himself become a 
Christian?" 

" He says it would not answer for all the family to 
embrace Christianity." 

" And why," I asked with some curiosity, " does 
he think so ?" 

" He says that if we all become Christians our 
heathen neighbors will take advantage of that cir- 
cumstance to impose on us." 

" How will they do that ?" I inquired. 

" Christians are not allowed to swear or fight ; and 
father says that when our wicked neighbors ascertain 
we have embraced Christianity, they will proceed at 
once to curse and maltreat us. Hence father says to 
us : ' You may all become Christians, but I must 
remain a heathen so as to retaliate on our bad neigh- 
bors. You can go to meeting and worship, but I 
must stay at home to do the cursing and fighting for 
the family.' " 

An incident occurred at Ngu-kang which will 
furnish some illustration of our work in China. One 
Sunday afternoon we commenced our usual service 
in the house of one of the brethren. The room was 
crowded, and many were standing about the door. 



308 INCIDENTS. 

We had sung the opening hymn and kneeled for 
prayer, the entire congregation kneeling with us. I 
had uttered only a few sentences of the prayer when 
whir-wA^-WHACK came a blow so close to my face 
that for a moment I felt sure it had been aimed at 
me. Somewhat startled, I opened my eyes, and 
there, right before me, stood a strapping field-woman, 
armed with a stout bamboo cane. She seemed 
frantic with rage, and poured her blows with furious 
energy upon the shoulders and back of a young man 
kneeling at my side. Her voice, never musical I 
should suppose, was now gratingly harsh, and pitched 
on a particularly high key, so that the volleys of ob- 
jurgations and curses with which she interlarded her 
blows fell on the ear like rapid discharges of fire- 
crackers. A moment's thought explained the char- 
acter of this unexpected episode in our services, and, 
as all the congregation remained quietly kneeling, I 
determined to continue my prayer notwithstanding 
this unwelcome disturbance. The execution of this 
purpose was more difficult than I had anticipated. 
The woman was in a towering passion, her arms and 
tongue moving with astonishing velocity, and, in self- 
defense, I found myself compelled to lead the devo- 
tions of the sanctuary in an elevation of tone and a 
prolixity of address quite unusual with me. The 
storm, however, gradually subsided. Finding that 
the meeting was going forward in spite of her dis- 
orderly proceedings, the woman began to restrain 
herself, and the young man, acting on the advice of 
the brethren near him, arose from his knees and ac- 
companied her from the place. After our exercises 



WHIPPING AN ENQUIRER. 309 

were over the brethren gave the following explana- 
tion of the disturbance : The woman was the mother 
of the young man she thus publicly chastised. The 
son had become interested in Christianity, and 
began to attend our meetings. His mother opposed 
him, and threatened to beat him if he did not change 
his course. On the Sunday preceding the above oc- 
currence the mother had dragged him out of the 
prayer-meeting and gave public notice of her inten- 
tion to beat him if he ever dared again to disobey her 
commands on this subject. Greatly to the surprise 
of the brethren the young man appeared in the con- 
gregation on the present occasion, and hence the 
scene that ensued. Shortly after this I left China, 
and have not yet learned the final issue in the case, 
but hope and pray that the young man may perse- 
vere in his desire to become a Christian. 

I was much interested in some remarks made by 
one of our converts in class-meeting on one occasion. 
He was speaking of the blessings Christianity confers, 
and after enumerating a goodly number of its more 
prominent gifts, he proceeded : " And then, brethren, 
in addition to all these, Christianity institutes a new 
order of kindred. While a heathen I had parents, 
brothers, sisters, cousins, and so on, and I never 
thought of even caring for any one beyond these ; but 
since becoming a Christian I really love every person 
in the world who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. 
This is a new bond which attaches me to the entire 
Church of Christ, and I now love Christians of all 
countries more cordially and thoroughly than I ever 
did my kindred after the flesh. Indeed, while I was 



310 INCIDENTS. 

a heathen there was but little if any love between 
the members of our family ; contentions and quarrels 
never ceased among us. But now all is changed ; we 
live together in peace and harmony, and it is really 
delightful thus to dwell together in unity of faith and 
love." 

The following conversation passed between a mem- 
ber of our Church in Fuhchau and one of his uncon- 
verted neighbors. It may be well for me to state 
here that in Fuhchau the Chinese are accustomed to 
assert, with great boldness and persistency, that 
foreign missionaries bribe the people^ to embrace 
Christianity, though they must very well know that 
the charge is utterly without foundation. Shortly 
after the conversion of the brother referred to one of 
his neighbors called to see him, and the following 
dialogue ensued : 

"How much did you get for embracing Chris- 
tianity ?" inquired the neighbor. 

"I do not wish to name the sum," replied the 
convert ; "how much do you think it was?" 

" I suppose you received at least ten dollars." 

" More than that." 

"Twenty?" 

" More than that." 

"Fifty?" 

" More than that," 

(With eager curiosity) " One hundred ?" 

"More than that." 

(In utter amazement) " "Why, how much did you 
get ? pray do tell me !" 

"Something more valuable than the bulk of 



INFLUENCE OF A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 311 

Kushan in solid gold," (pointing to a mountain of 
that name some six miles off, and measuring three 
thousand feet in height.) 

" You confound me," exclaimed the excited neigh- 
bor ; " pray explain your meaning." 

" Why I have received this," (holding up a copy of 
the Bible.) " This is the word of God, and is worth 
more than all the combined treasures of earth." 

Shortly after I entered upon my public labors as a 
missionary in Fuhchau the following incident occur- 
red, and I give it here to show how the principles of 
Christianity, when embodied in individual life, may 
break down the prejudices and win the affections of 
the heathen. I was preaching in our street chapel 
from: "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and 
and persecute you," etc., (Matt, v, 11 ;) and I was 
saying that Christians frequently endured persecution 
in consequence of their faith in Christ. The Chinese 
have beautiful theories in ethics and politics. They 
can depict in glowing colors the superior excellence 
of virtue ; but from these intellectual exercitations 
they will pass without compunction to the grossest 
sensual indulgences. They conceive it to be impos- 
sible for a man's practice to approximate, in any 
good degree, his own ideal of excellence. I referred 
at some length to this discrepancy between theory 
and practice among the Chinese, and then spoke of 
Christians as approximating the Bible standard of 
excellence. As I was presenting this point a man 
seated near the door arose and, addressing me, 
said: 

" May I interrupt you, sir, for a moment ?" 



312 INCIDENTS. 

"Certainly," I replied, and then waited to hear 
what he had to say. Turning to the congregation 
the man proceeded : 

"What the teacher says is true. Christians will 
endure reproach and persecution. Why, from the 
first day this teacher came here to live I have taken 
every suitable occasion to revile and injure him. I 
have sought to thwart his plans in every possible 
way, and yet to this hour he has never answered me 
a harsh word. It seemed, indeed, as though he took 
pains to treat me kindly. His conduct in this re- 
spect has always puzzled me ; but what he has just 
been saying seems to throw light on the subject." 
Then addressing me, he said : " Will you please tell 
me whether or not your conduct with reference to 
myself has been dictated and controlled by the doc- 
trine you have just been explaining ?" 

" Tour surmise is correct," I replied. " Tour per- 
sistent abuse has often pained me; but for Christ's 
sake I have endured it, hoping you would see the 
wickedness of such conduct and abandon it." 

"Well," said he, addressing the congregation, 
" this doctrine is good, and it has a power over the 
heart of which we are ignorant. There is not a man 
here who would have borne a tithe of what this 
teacher has endured from me ; now, henceforth, I am 
this teacher's friend. He is a good man, and we 
ought to treat him kindly." 

It affords me pleasure to state that the man has 
been true to his promise. Since that day I have 
never received from him the slightest disrespect. He 
has shown himself in many ways to be my friend, 



MISSIONAEY SEKMON. 313 

and on all suitable occasions he never fails to speak 
a good word for me. I believe lie has not yet be- 
come a Christian ; but it rises before me in the light 
of a blessed probability that I shall be permitted to 
lay my hand on his head, and, at a Christian altar, 
baptize him in the name of the Father, the Son, and 
the Holy Ghost. 

On one occasion I preached a missionary discourse 
to our native XUhurch in Fuhchau, and endeavored to 
impress on their minds the duty of contributing ac- 
cording to their ability for the support of the Gospel. 
When the congregation had been dismissed one of 
our aged members came forward and took a seat 
beside me near the pulpit. He was much agitated, 
and seemed anxious to speak to me. An opportunity 
was soon given him to do so, and he said : 

" I was thinking, while listening to your discourse, 
of God's great goodness to me. I was advanced in 
years when the missionaries came to Fuhchau and 
I had been living in sin all my life. At first I was 
unwilling to believe the Gospel. I was ashamed to 
confess Christ before my neighbors; but the Lord 
graciously enlightened my mind, and through grace 
I was made willing to accept Jesus Christ as my 
Saviour. And then here is my wife, also a member 
of the Church, and there are my sons and their wives, 
all converted and united with me in Church-fellow- 
ship. Such mercies are truly wonderful; and then 
to think that I have never made any returns to God 
for his wondrous love !" Here the old man's emo- 
tions choked his utterance, and he sobbed aloud, 
while the tears streamed from his eyes. After gain- 



314 INCIDENTS. 

ing control over his feelings, lie resumed : "I often 
feel like going ont among my countrymen to preach 
the Gospel, and, indeed, I have started occasionally 
to visit certain places where I thought I could per- 
suade the people to become Christians; but after 
walking a short distance my strength would fail, and 
I had to abandon the effort. I am old and feeble. 
O if I were only a young man how I should love to 
go everywhere proclaiming the glorious Gospel! 
But, alas ! this can never be my privilege. I can only 
stay at home, talk a little to my neighbors, and, by 
my prayers and contributions, try to aid in advancing 
this holy cause." 

I was much gratified by this incident at the time 
of its occurrence ; and I now remember it with the 
greater interest, because since I left China (1859) the 
old gentleman has died in the faith. The following 
account of his death, from the pen of the Rev. Otis 
Gibson, a member of our mission in China, will 
doubtless be acceptable to the reader : 

"FUHCHAIT, 1860. 

"Deae Beothee Maclay: About one o'clock 
A. M., on Saturday, the 11th of February, 1860, 
Father Hu Ngieng Seu died in piece. During the 
last few years of his life, while prostrated by sickness, 
he seemed much more humble, patient, and submiss- 
ive than before. You remember that he has always 
been a source of some anxiety for fear he had not 
met with a radical change of heart. I am sure you 
will rejoice to learn that his last days, and especially 
his death, have left strong grounds for believing that 




Father Hu. 



FATHER HU. 317 

he was truly a child of God. He regretted very 
much that he was not able to come and bid you 
good-by before you left for America. The first time 
I saw him after your departure, with a sad coun- 
tenance, he said: "What are we to do now? We 
native Christians are too young ahd too weak to 
walk alone. Teacher Maclay has left us; you and 
Teacher Wentworth cannot hold us all up ; some of 
us will fall." I tried to impress upon his mind that 
Jesus is able and willing to support, to strengthen, 
and to bless ; that it is much better for us to trust 
in Christ than in man. He seemed thoughtful a 
moment and then said : ' We must now put our trust 
all in Christ.' 

" I was soon away on a long trip up the river visit- 
ing Minchang, Chuikau, Tenping, and Kienning. 
On my return no one manifested more joy to see me 
than Father Hu. He said that I was more precious 
than ever, now that I had been away, and that I 
must not go away so far for fear bad men might lay 
violent hands upon me. I often talked with him on 
the subject of saving faith in Christ. Sometimes with 
tears he would confess himself so great a sinner that 
he feared he could never reach heaven. I made it a 
point to call and see him once a week, and pray for 
and with him during his confinement to his room. 
He always seemed very glad to see me, and joined 
earnestly in prayer. The second day after I was so 
violently mobbed in the streets I visited Father Hu, 
and I shall perhaps never forget the reception he 
gave me. As I was going up stairs the old man got 
up from his bed, and came with feeble steps (his wife 



318 INCIDENTS. 

assisting him) to meet me. They both shed tears. 
Father Hu cried like a child, took hold of me with 
both hands, and with affecting earnestness thanked 
the heavenly Father for saving me from the violence 
of those who had laid snares for my life. Said he : 
'It is well that I am sick. Had I not been sick 
when I heard how the mob abnsed you I could not 
have endured it, but would have taken an ax and cut 
the wicked fellows to pieces.' It was at this time 
that I asked him if he thought he was ready to die, 
and he answered: 'My hody is a miserable wicked 
thing, and God will not suffer it much longer. My 
soul trusts in Christ, and in him alone, for salvation, 
and I hope soon I shall be in the heavenly country.' 
" The watch-night this year was held at Tienang 
Tong. Nearly all the Church members were present, 
and Father Hu was left entirely alone nearly all 
night. He passed the hours in a rigid self-examina- 
tion, and the next day, in attendance at a 'Union 
Prayer-meeting' (Chinese) held in the Ching Sing 
Tong, he received such a blessing that from that day 
he seemed a different man. He took less interest in 
worldly matters, and seemed only interested in the 
things of God. Brother long Mi's letter, I think, 
alludes to this. On the night of his death long Mi 
and his wife, Sing Mi, Seng Mi, and Kiu Taih were 
with him. About midnight he asked to be raised up 
on the bed, and then he called on them to pray, say- 
ing that his time had come, that the Saviour was 
calling him, and that he must go. After prayer 
they asked him if he had peace of soul. He placed 
his hand on his breast, and pointing to heaven, said : 



FATHER HU. 319 

' The Saviour does not leave me ; the Saviour is 
with me.' He was laid down on the bed at his own 
request, and without a struggle or a groan his spirit 
passed away. His remains were interred in the 
family vault some four or five miles out from the east 
gate of the city. Brother Baldwin and myself at- 
tended the funeral, and buried the remains of Father 
Hu in 'sure and certain hope of the resurrection 
unto eternal life.' 

" Father Hu was born and brought up in this city, 
(Fuhchau.) He had reached the fifty-ninth year of 
his age. He was the father of eleven children, eight 
of whom, six sons and two daughters, are now living. 
The oldest four sons are acceptable members of the 
Church, and two of them are licensed exhorters. 
The youngest two boys and the youngest daughter 
are in the mission schools. It was through Father 
Hu, then an idolater, that we purchased the lot for 
building the Ching Sing Tong, (Church of the True 
God,) and you will remember with some interest that 
Father Hu dissuaded his neighbors from building a 
temple which they had commenced next to our 
church. He told them that the one we had erected 
was large enough for all purposes, and proposed that 
they inquire into the doctrines there preached. 

" He became interested in the Gospel about 1855, 
and was baptized in May, 1858. During the most of 
his life he was connected with the military service of 
his country, and in 1858 he received from Hienfung, 
the present emperor of China, an honorary title for 
services rendered in the imperial cause. 

" Yours truly, Otis Gibson." 



320 INCIDENTS. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

INCIDENTS. 

In the spring of 1859 we were holding a quarterly- 
meeting in Fuhchau, and on Sunday morning had 
the usual "love-feast." There was a full attendance 
of the members at this meeting, and the exercises 
were interesting and edifying. Toward the close of 
the services a boy, whose head alone was visible over 
the top of the pew, arose near the center of the 
church, and in a clear though tremulous voice said : 

" Friends, I am a little boy, and am very ignorant ; 
but f I wish to become a Christian, and I desire you all 
to teach me and pray for me." 

The evident sincerity of the little fellow greatly 
interested me in his case, and at the close of the love- 
feast I made some inquiries concerning him. Our 
brethren from the country knew him very well. 
They said he was about sixteen years of age, that he 
lived about twelve miles from Fuhchau, and that he 
had walked all the distance that morning to be pres- 
ent at the love-feast. The brethren then gave the 
following history of the case, and I place it on record 
for the edification and encouragement of the Church : 

" About four weeks since," said they, " we noticed 
this boy in our Sunday prayer-meeting at Koi-hung, 



THE ORPHAN BOY. 321 

but we paid no attention to him, supposing he had 
come merely through idle curiosity. The following 
Sunday he was again at meeting, and we thought it 
somewhat strange he should remember both the day 
and hour of our meeting ; still we did not say any- 
thing to him. On the third Sunday, to our surprise, 
he was again at the meeting, and manifested such a 
hearty interest in the exercises that we entered into 
conversation with him. 

" ' Do your parents know you are attending this 
meeting V we inquired. 

" ' I have no parents,' replied the boy. 

" ' Where then do you live V 

" ' O with Mr. ; he is my guardian.' 

" ' Well, does Mr. know you attend this 

meeting ?' 

" ' Yes, he knows it.' 

" ' Is he willing you should attend V 

" ' At first he was not, but afterward he changed 
his mind, and said I might come.' 

" ' WTiat induced him to change his mind V 

" ' I'll tell you how it happened. About a month 
ago I heard of this meeting, and was very anxious to 
attend. So one day I said to my guardian : " The 
people at Koi-hung are learning the new doctrines, 
and I would like to attend their meetings." He be- 
came very angry, and said : " Who has been telling 
you about these doctrines? Go to your work, and 
never mention the subject to me again." I went to 
work feeling very badly, for I thought it would be 
impossible for me ever to get to your meetings. One 

day, however, Mr. was in a very pleasant humor, 

21 



322 • INCIDENTS. 

and I ventured to approach him again on the subject, 
assuring him that if he would release me from work 
on Sundays, I would make up the lost time by work- 
ing harder all the rest of the week. He scolded me 
sharply for daring to speak to him again on the sub- 
ject, and I began to give up all hope of succeeding. 
But after a while he changed his manner, "and spoke 
to me more kindly. I then repeated to bim my 
proposition about making up the lost time ; and after 
thinking over the matter for a few minutes, he said : 
" Well, if you are so anxious to hear these new doc- 
trines, you may go on the condition you name; 
but remember, you shall have nothing to eat on 
Sundays /" ' 

" ' And have you been going without food 
every Sunday since that time V we asked with 
eagerness. 

" ' Yes,' said the little fellow ; ' but I do not regard 
that as any great hardship.' " 

I may add that the boy continued to grow in Chris- 
tian knowledge and grace, and before I left China he 
was admitted by baptism to membership in our native 
Church at ]STgu-kang. 

Mr. Wong, a young landscape painter in Fuhchau, 
was an intimate friend of one of our Church mem- 
bers. Both being painters, their business often threw 
them into each other's society, and a strong attach- 
ment sprung up between them. After the conversion 
of Brother Hu long Mi, he felt a great desire for the 
salvation of Mr. Wong, his cherished friend. He 
prayed fervently for him, and never failed, when 
opportunity offered, to urge upon him the claims of 



THE PAINTEE. 323 

Christianity. It soon became apparent that these 
pious efforts were producing a salutary impression on 
Mr. Wong's mind. He began to read the Scripture, 
and was present frequently at our meetings. Grad- 
ually he acquired confidence, and began to speak and 
pray in our class-meetings. We all felt a lively inter- 
est in his case, for he was a young man of excellent 
character, possessed more than ordinary mental abil- 
ity, and always evinced a humble, docile spirit. 
That he could embrace Christianity without encount- 
ering opposition, was more than could be expected ; 
and yet no one had formed an adequate conception of 
the trying ordeal that awaited him. 

While he was embracing every opportunity to at- 
tend our meetings, and was giving us every evidence 
of his sincere desire to become a Christian, some per- 
sons called to see his mother, and said : 

"You must look after that son of yours; he is 
running into danger." 

The old lady was a widow, tenderly attached to 
this son, and the information communicated by the 
persons just referred to startled her. "What is 
wrong!" she exclaimed; "my son has always been 
industrious and dutiful ; what has occurred ?" 

"He attends the foreign church," they replied, 
" and it is said he has determined to become a 
Christian." 

" Impossible !" cried the old lady ; " it cannot be 
that my son is about to do such a thing." 

When the young man came home his mother thus 
interrogated him: "Son, it is said you go to hear 
these foreign doctrines ; is the report true ?" 



324 INCIDENTS. 

" Why, mother," replied the young man, " every- 
body goes to hear them. The church is on the main 
street, and when the church door is thrown open and 
the bell rung all the people go in for a few minutes 
to see and hear. I too have gone in to listen." 

"Is it possible you can listen to the abominable 
lies uttered by those foreigners ?" continued the 
mother. 

" I am quite young yet and cannot understand all 
that is said ; but, mother, what they say seems to be 
reasonable." 

" Don't talk in that way to me," retorted the old 
lady ; " you must cease to hear those foreigners ; they 
are crafty, unprincipled fellows, and you are not able 
to resist their blandishments. I dare not trust you 
out of my sight ; henceforth you must not cross the 
threshold of my door to go abroad. Stay here and 
work, and when you have prepared the pictures I 
will attend to selling them." 

" I shall do as you direct, mother," quietly replied 
the son. 

The old lady kept her son in close confinement, 
narrowly watching him to see that he did not leave 
the house. She tried in every way to shake his de- 
termination to become a Christian, weeping, scolding, 
and threatening by turns. It was a terrible trial 
to the young man ; he sought help in prayer ; morn- 
ing, noon, and night he would kneel in his chamber 
to pray, and at times, in the earnestness of his feel- 
ings, the petitions would find expression in audible 
words. The old lady soon heard sounds proceeding 
from her son's chamber, and occasionally, as she drew 



THE PAINTER. 325 

near to listen, the name "Jesus," or the petition, 
"Lord bless my mother," would fall on her ear. 
These words troubled her; it made her uneasy to 
hear in her own house the name Jesus ; it filled her 
with strange fears to have that name ringing in her 
ears. And then that oft-repeated prayer, " Lord, 
bless my mother !" it was too much. After enduring 
it as long as she possibly could, she determined to 
change her tactics. Calling her son into her presence, 
she said : 

" Son, you must stop this praying." 

The young man replied : " Mother, hitherto I have 
obeyed all your commands, but now, when you tell 
me to cease praying to God, I dare not obey 
you." 

"But the noise disturbs me," continued the old 
lady ; "I cannot stay in the house with you." 

"Mother," replied the young man, "I did not 
know I prayed so loudly. Hereafter I will pray in a 
whisper, so that you need not be disturbed." 

" You shall never pray in my house again," sternly 
responded the old lady. "If you continue to pray 
you must leave the house." 

" Mother," said the young man, " I cannot cease to 
pray." 

" Leave my house then this moment," exclaimed 
the mother. "I disown you forever as my child. 
Never again enter this house ; and when I die dare 
not to join with the family in celebrating my funeral 
obsequies." 

A mother's malediction is one of the direst calam- 
ities that can befall a Chinese; but in the present 



326 INCIDENTS. 

instance the terrible anathema failed to move this 
humble, patient young man. Driven from his own 
home he came directly to his friend, Brother long Mi, 
and asked permission to live and labor with him in 
his shop. The request was at once granted; and 
now, in the congenial society of his friend, within 
reach of sanctuary privileges, and surrounded by our 
Church members, he seemed to be perfectly happy. 
The Bible was his constant companion, and his 
Christian experience developed rapidly. 

After spending some time in this manner, he came 
to me one day in great perplexity, saying : 

" My mother sends for me, and I understand they 
have determined to get me into their power and then 
beat or kill me ; what shall I do ?" 

It was a solemn moment. O how profoundly I 
felt the need of heavenly wisdom to direct us in that 
trying emergency. "Follow the teachings of the 
Bible," I replied. " The fifth commandment says : 
' Honor thy father and thy mother ;' and then the 
Lord Jesus has said: 'He that loveth father or 
mother more than me is not worthy of me.' Were I 
in your place I would go, but maintain my integrity 
at all hazards." 

It was a trying moment for the young man. A 
fierce struggle was going on within his bosom, and 
for a time it seemed as though he could not decide 
the question. The decision, however, was made ; 
and never shall I forget the solemnity of his manner 
as he deliberately uttered the words, " I'll go ; pray 
for me !" He went, and with many prayers for his 
deliverance we awaited the result. 



THE PAINTEE. 327 

The next day he returned with a joyful counte- 
nance, saying : 

"It is all right; there was no trouble at all. 
When I reached home mother was sitting in her 
chair waiting for me. She said: 'I have sent for 
you to ask you for the last time whether or not you 
will abandon your purpose to become a Christian.' 
I replied : ' Mother, I have forsaken the evil and am 
following the good ; how can I now abandon the 
good and turn again to the evil?' 'You are fully 
determined then,' said mother, 'to become a Chris- 
tian V I felt that my answer to this question would 
decide my fate, and raising my heart in prayer to 
God for grace to meet even death itself, I ventured 
to reply : ' Mother, I have so determined.' She looked 
at me steadily for a minute, and then said: 'If I 
cannot change your determination I shall change 
mine. I shall not oppose you any further. Tou are 
at liberty to become a Christian, and I wish you to 
live with me as formerly.' These remarks were so 
utterly unexpected that my emotions completely over- 
powered me, and falling on my knees I poured out 
my grateful acknowledgements to God for this won- 
derful deliverance. And now I wish to be baptized 
and received into the Church, and I wish you all to 
pray for my mother's conversion." 

On the following communion Sabbath he was 
admitted to baptism, and now he is a licensed 
exhorter in our Church at Fuhchau. Since my 
return to the United States I have received a letter 
from him, of which the following translation is here 
presented to the reader : 



328 INCIDENTS. 

" To Kev. E. S. Maclay : 

" My Dear Sik, — I desire that you will be pleased 
to give thanks for me to our heavenly Father for all 
his goodness to me, as I am sure my one mouth can- 
not sufficiently praise him for his mercies. I know, 
indeed, that you do most certainly offer thanksgiving 
on my behalf, and that you do pray for all the mem- 
bers of our Church in China. I am assured also that 
it was God who guided you to China and enabled 
you to endure so much persecution and reproach 
without ever once leaving China or ceasing to com- 
passionate the Chinese, during a period of nearly 
thirteen years. It was not by your own strength 
that you accomplished all this ; surely it was in the 
strength of God you did it. Before there were any 
Christian converts in Fuhchau, with whom did you 
associate? Truly it must have been with the Sav- 
iour, Jesus Christ ; otherwise you could not have 
passed the time. "When I think of these things I 
give thanks to God for his great grace toward you. 
I pray you constantly to cherish the recollection of 
these mercies, and never suffer Satan to lead you 
astray. In former years also our heavenly Father 
has crowned your life with many blessings ; but you 
can yourself readily understand these matters. Our 
heavenly Father regards you as gold, which, after a 
refining process of thirteen years, now exhibits the 
unclouded luster ; and most assuredly he will use you 
as a righteous instrument for the accomplishment of 
his purposes. Eemember, I beseech you, how the 
Lord has purified and honored you, and do not fail to 
come back to China. All the brethren desire this ; 



CHINESE LETTER. 329 

we long for you as the parched mouth longs for the 
grateful tea. In all our thoughts we desire this one 
thing, that the Holy Spirit may quickly lead you 
back to China. 

" We pray God to preserve you and your family 
while on the ocean, and to grant that both your body 
and soul may have health. I believe God will give 
you great joy on your voyage to America; and the 
Saviour says : ' Tour joy no man taketh from you.' 
This joy, granted you by the Lord, you will com- 
municate to all the brethren and sisters of the Church 
in America ; and then I am sure your hearts will 
overflow with joy, and God will be glorified. 

" During the past nine weeks Satan has tried to 
take away my charity, my faith, and my love for 
God. He has sought to carry on his devices in my 
heart ; but, thank God ! the Saviour has cast him out 
and driven him from me. I praise the Lord because 
he answers my prayers. For some time past I have 
desired to preach the Gospel, but supposed I should 
not be able to do, it, as my mother was unwilling. 
When thinking over the matter a great mountain 
seemed to rise before me, and I was able to enjoy 
peace of mind only because I supposed it was not 
the will of God that I should preach. About a 
month since, however, my mind became greatly 
troubled, and I was unable to decide upon the mat- 
ter. At one time I felt the greatest compassion for 
men, and then I would feel that if I refused to go 
and preach the Gospel I never could see the Saviour 
in heaven. But still I asked myself, 'How can I 
climb this great mountain V and Satan suggested 



330 INCIDENTS. 

that it was far better for me to travel on a level road. 
Thank God, the Holy Spirit enlightened my mind 
by suggesting : ' Do yon not believe that with God 
all things are possible ? Doth not the Scripture say, 
"He that loveth father or mother more than me is not 
worthy of me ;" also, " Strait is the gate and narrow is 
the way ?" Where then is the level and easy road for 
you to walk on V At that moment, through the mercy 
of God, I remembered that formerly, when I thought 
of becoming a Christian, then also there seemed to be 
a high mountain in my way, but the Saviour merci- 
fully aided me in climbing it. These thoughts 
induced me to cry to the Saviour for assistance in my 
present distress, and, blessed be his name ! he heard 
and delivered me. I was a condemned criminal, 
exposed to the punishment of hell, and had I been 
sent to that place of torment the sentence would have 
been just. But the Saviour did not seal my guilt; 
he gave me grace to repent, granted me, through 
faith, a confident hope of eternal life, changed all my 
purposes, and opened the eyes of my understanding, 
so that I could dig for the hidden pearls and search 
in the Scriptures for the words of life. Truly the 
Saviour has loved me with an unspeakable love in 
enabling me to become a disciple ; and how can we 
express that love wherewith he hath loved the world ! 
Please pray for me that I may not be an unprofitable 
servant. And may I trouble you to present my 
Christian salutations to the bishops, pastors, mem- 
bers, and friends of the Church in America ? May 
the peace of the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy 
Ghost, be with your body and spirit ! 



WONG KIU TAIH. 331 

"As I close this letter I ask myself, "When, shall 
I see you ? Will it be on earth or in heaven ? Will 
yon first enter the heavenly country, or shall I first 
touch its shore ? The Lord knoweth. While yet in 
the flesh, let me urge you to return soon to China. I 
am very thankful for this privilege of writing to you, 
and beg you will send me a letter as soon as 
possible. From your unworthy pupil, 

" Wong Kiu Taih." 

My latest advices from the Fuhchau mission repre- 
sent Brother Wong Kiu Taih as a most devoted and 
exemplary Christian; and in a letter I recently re- 
ceived from the Rev. Otis Gibson of that mission, he 
says : " We have just granted exhorter's license to 
Brother Wong Kiu Taih. When he received the li- 
cense he went directly home, disposed of his business, 
supplied himself with Christian books and tracts, and 
at once commenced itinerating through the country, 
preaching the Gospel and distributing the books." 
Will not all who read these pages unite in fervent 
prayer to God in behalf of this most interesting and 
promising Chinese Christian? 

After the conversion of Brother Hu Po Mi, one of 
our early converts, he was very diligent in talking to 
his neighbors about the Gospel. One of the persons 
whom he most frequently visited was a basket-maker, 
and Brother Hu cherished the hope that he would be- 
come a disciple. In this hope, however, he was dis- 
appointed ; the man could not think of meeting the 
opposition which a profession of Christianity would 
inevitably excite against him. But there was a 



332 INCIDENTS. 

young apprentice in the shop, who had quietly list- 
ened to all that had been said, and upon whose 
mind Brother Hu's exhortations had produced a pro- 
found impression. This young man, under the gra- 
cious influences of the Holy Spirit, determined to be- 
come a Christian. When Brother Hu next visited 
the shop, there was only the young apprentice pres- 
ent, and he embraced the opportunity to make known 
his determination to Brother Hu. It was a most 
grateful surprise to Brother Hu to hear the young 
man speak in this way, and after conversing on the 
subject of Christianity for some time they engaged 
in prayer. When they rose from their knees the 
young man said : "I feel very happy ; my heart is as 
light as a feather; I never before felt as I do now. 
May I not at once be baptized and become a Chris- 
tian ?" Brother Hu was puzzled by the sudden 
change that had come over the young man, and not 
wishing to assume any further responsibility as his 
spiritual instructor, advised him to wait till some of 
the missionaries could converse with him. Next 
morning Brother Hu was awaked by a loud rap at 
his door, and on opening it there stood the young ap- 
prentice. " I have come to see you," he said, " about 
my becoming a Christian. Here is my ancestral 
tablet ; I went home for it last night, and now I wish 
you to take charge of it." They then conversed and 
prayed together, and Brother Hu was astonished at 
the fluency and intelligence of the young man's 
prayer. After breakfast Brother Hu came to see me 
on the subject, and after giving me a history of the 
case, we at once went to see the young man. He 



THE BASKET MAKER. 333 

gave us a full account of his experience, and I exam- 
ined him closely, thinking it possible there might be 
some mistake either in his language or in my inter- 
pretation of it. The result of the examination was 
entirely satisfactory, and I felt assured that the 
young man had really experienced a change of heart. 
We then engaged in prayer, each one leading in turn, 
and it was delightful to notice the pertinency and 
fervor of our young brother's petitions when he led in 
prayer. He was entirely illiterate, being unable to 
read even his own name, and it was surprising now 
to notice the vigor of his thoughts and the appropri- 
ateness of his language. We all felt a deep interest 
in the young man, and assisted him in making ar- 
rangements with his employer by which he was able 
to attend public worship and rest on the Sabbath. 
After passing through a course of Christian instruc- 
tion, he was admitted to baptism and membership in 
our Mission Church in Fuhchau. When his friends 
learned that he had become a Christian they made a 
violent assault upon him, charging him with multi- 
farious crimes and misdemeanors, demanding from 
him a recantation of his Christian vows, or large sub- 
sidies of money in the way of bribes, and proceeding 
even to blows in their efforts to coerce him. The 
young disciple bore himself with meekness and dig- 
nity through the storm, and steadily refused in any 
way to compromise his Christian character. His em- 
ployer, apprehensive of trouble, dismissed him from his 
service, and thus our young brother, without home 
or employment, was thrown out upon the world. 
Hearing of his trouble, the Kev. Mr. Gibson called to 



33<± INCIDENTS. 

see him, and offered him a place in our mission board- 
ing-school ; and he remained there, learning to read, 
until he succeeded in making satisfactory arrange- 
ments for going into business on his own account. 



LAW AGAINST CHRISTIANITY. 335 



CHAPTEE XVIII. 

CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 

We now notice the opening up of China to Chris- 
tianity and "Western commerce by the provisions of 
the treaties recently formed at Tientsin. Before 
proceeding to state the provisions of the new treaties 
with reference to Christianity and foreign intercourse, 
let us glance at the previous attitude of the Chinese 
government on these points. 

Among the " fundamental laws " of China there is 
one section (162d) headed, " Wizards, Witches, and all 
Superstitions, prohibited." Under the Emperor Kia- 
king, A. D. 1814, a sixth clause was prepared under 
this section with reference to Christianity. The 
clause was modified in 1821, and printed in 1826, by 
the late emperor, Taukwang. We quote part of this 
clause. It reads: "People of the Western Ocean, 
[Europeans or Portuguese,] should they propagate in 
the country the religion of heaven's Lord, [name 
given to Christianity by the Pomanists,] or clandes- 
tinely print books, or collect congregations to be 
preached to, and thereby deceive many people, or 
should any Tartars or Chinese, in their turn, prop- 
agate the doctrines and clandestinely give names, (as 
in baptism,) inflaming and misleading many, if 



336 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 

proved by authentic testimony, the head or leader 
shall he sentenced to immediate death by strangula- 
tion ; he who propagates the religion, inflaming and 
deceiving the people, if the number be not large, and 
no names be given, shall be sentenced to strangula- 
tion after a period of imprisonment. Those who are 
merely hearers or followers of the doctrine, if they 
will not repent and recant, shall be transported to 
the Mohammedan cities (in Turkistan) and given to 
be slaves to the beys and other powerful Mohammed- 
ans who are able to coerce them. . •. . All civil and 
military officers who may fail to detect Europeans 
clandestinely residing in the country within their 
jurisdiction, and propagating their religion, thereby 
deceiving the multitude, shall be delivered over to 
the Supreme Board and be subjected to a court of in- 
quiry." This stringent prohibition was evidently 
directed against Romanism. It was hoped that the 
Chinese government would discriminate between 
Protestantism and Romanism ; and in A. D. 1835-6 
several voyages were made along the coast of China 
by Protestant missionaries, and Christian books were 
given to the Chinese, who were eager to receive them. 
These voyages aroused the attention of the local 
authorities, and representations on the subject were 
sent to Pekin from Canton. The emperor (Taukwang) 
immediately sent down an edict, commanding the 
governor of Canton to examine into the matter 
secretly and rigorously ; and also to ascertain who 
were the intruders on the coast, and who were the 
" traitorous natives in Canton who had supplied them 
with books." The high authorities at Canton at once 



TEEATIES WITH CHINA. 337 

issued a proclamation on the subject. They first re- 
ferred to the existing laws against Christianity, and 
to certain foreigners who in time past had clandes- 
tinely entered the country, and who, having been ap- 
prehended, were tried and either strangled or 
expelled ; then they referred to the ships which, a 
few months before, had suddenly appeared in the 
waters of those provinces bordering on the coast dis- 
tributing books, " to persuade men to believe in the 
Lord Jesus;" and after stating that half a year 
would be allowed any booksellers or others, who had 
received such publications, to deliver them up to the 
magistrates, thereby saving themselves from punish- 
ment for past crimes, they concluded their edict by 
warning the people to reject "corrupt doctrines," 
and to follow the ways of the ancient kings. These 
edicts sufficiently indicated the animus of the Chinese 
government with regard to all forms of Christianity. 
The treaties formed with China in 1843-4 by En- 
gland, France, and the United States, made no allu- 
sion to Christianity or Christian missions. In 1844 
the French embassador, M. Lagrene, brought to the 
notice of Keying, Chinese Imperial Commissioner at 
Canton, the persecutions to which Chinese converts 
to Romanism, were subjected in consequence of their 
faith. Keying memorialized the emperor on the sub- 
ject, praying that "henceforth all natives and 
foreigners without distinction who learn and practice 
the religion of the Lord of heaven, and do not excite 
trouble by improper conduct, to be exempted from 
criminality ;" adding, however, "as to those of the 

French, and other foreign nations who practice this 

22 



338 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 

religion, let them only be permitted to build churches 
at the five ports opened to commercial intercourse. 
They mnst not presume to enter the country to prop- 
ogate their religion. Should any act in opposition, 
turn their backs upon the treaties, and rashly over- 
step the boundaries, the local officers will at once 
seize and deliver them to their respective consuls for 
restraint and correction. Capital punishment is not 
to be rashly inflicted, in order that the exercise of 
gentleness may be displayed." This memorial was 
approved by the emperor, and its publication was 
hailed with great satisfaction by the friends of Chris- 
tian missions. A more careful examination of the 
memorial, however, dampened this joy, and the 
course of subsequent events showed but too plainly 
that the antichristian policy of the Chinese govern- 
ment was not abandoned. The influence of this so- 
called " Toleration Edict " was scarcely perceptible, 
anc^ all the previous prohibitory laws on the subject 
remained, apparently, in full force. 

We now introduce a translation, by a competent 
hand, of the articles referring to Christianity in the 
treaties recently formed at Tientsin. It may be well 
at this point to state that each of the four treaties 
contains an article or clause stipulating that the sub- 
jects or citizens of its government shall receive all 
the privileges granted by China to any other nation ; 
thus any advantages granted to England or France 
accrue equally to Russia and the United States, and 
vice versa. The twenty-ninth article of the American 
treaty reads : " The principles of the Christian relig- 
ion, as professed by the Protestant and Roman Cath- 



TOLERATION OF CHRISTIANITY. 339 

olic Church.es, are recognized as teaching men to do 
good, and to do to others as they would have others 
do to them. Hereafter those who quietly profess 
and teach these doctrines shall not be molested or 
persecuted on account of their faith. Any person, 
whether citizen of the United States, or Chinese con- 
vert, who, according to these tenets, peaceably 
teaches and practices the principles of Christianity, 
shall in no case be interfered with or molested." 
Article eighth of the English treaty reads : " The 
Christian religion, as professed by Protestants and 
Roman Catholics, teaches the practice of virtue, and 
the treatment of others as ourselves. Henceforth all 
teachers and professors of it shall, one and all, be 
protected. ~No one of them peaceably following his 
calling, and not offending against the laws, shall in 
the least be oppressed or hindered by the Chinese au- 
thorities." Article thirteenth of the French treaty 
reads : " The Christian religion, having for its essen- 
tial object to lead men to virtue, the members of all 
Christian bodies [communions] shall enjoy full secu- 
rity for their persons, their property, and the free 
exercise of their religious worship ; and entire pro- 
tection shall be given to missionaries who peacefully 
enter the country, furnished with "passports such as 
are described in article eight. ~Ho obstacles shall be 
interposed by the Chinese authorities to the recog- 
nized right of any person in China to embrace Chris- 
tianity if he pleases, and to obey its requirements 
without being subject on that account to any penalty. 
"Whatever has been heretofore written, proclaimed, 
or published in China, by order of government, 



340 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 

against the Christian faith, is wholly abrogated and 
nullified in all the provinces of the empire." Article 
eighth of the Russian treaty says : " The Chinese 
government, recognizing the truth that the doctrines 
of Christianity promote the establishment of good 
order and peace among mankind, promises not to 
persecute its subjects who may wish to follow the re- 
quirements of this faith: they shall enjoy the same 
protection granted to those who profess other forms 
of religion tolerated in the empire. The Chinese 
government, believing that Christian missionaries are 
good men, who seek no material advantages for them- 
selves, hereby permits them to propagate the doc- 
trines of Christianity among its subjects, and allows 
them to pass everywhere in the country. A fixed 
number of missionaries passing through the cities or 
open ports shall be furnished with passports signed 
by the Russian authorities." 

Reference has been made to the passport system 
under which foreigners are now permitted to travel 
or reside in the interior of the country: I now pre- 
sent a translation of the ninth article of the English 
treaty on this subject, merely reminding the reader 
that its provisions apply equally to the other treaty 
powers. The article reads : 

"British subjects are allowed to proceed to every 
place in the interior with passports, either for amuse- 
ment or to trade. The passports will be issued by 
their consuls and stamped by the local authorities. 
When passing through any locality, if they are de- 
sired to produce it they must hand it up for inspec- 
tion. If it is correct they will be allowed to go on. 



TOLEEATION OP CHRISTIANITY. 341 

There must be no obstruction to their hiring vessels 
or people to carry their merchandise or baggage. If 
they have no passport, or if that they have is irregu- 
lar, or if they commit any offense against the law, 
they are to be sent to the consul nearest at hand for 
punishment. On their way to him they may be kept 
in custody, but must not be ill treated. Persons 
going out on excursions from the ports open to trade, 
so long as they are within one hundred le for a period 
of not more than five days, need not apply for a pass- 
port. Seamen and persons belonging to ships do not 
come under this rule. The local mandarins and the 
consuls will together draw up regulations for the pur- 
pose of keeping them in proper order. As to ISankin 
and other places which are rebel positions, on the re- 
capture of these passports shall be given to them." 

The preceding extracts indicate clearly and defin- 
itely the present attitude of the Chinese government 
with reference to Christianity and foreign inter- 
course. Let us refer to a few points : 

1. There stands the imperial declaration that 
Christianity is good, that it inculcates the principles 
of virtue, that it promotes good order and peace 
among men, teaching them to do to others as they 
would have others do to them. 

2. There is the imperial authorization to every Chi- 
nese in the empire to follow the dictates of his own 
judgment with regard to embracing Christianity. 

3. There stands recorded the imperial pledge that 
no Chinese convert to Christianity shall be subjected 
to any persecution for his faith. 

4. There is the imperial authorization to every 



342 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 

discreet foreigner, whether missionary or merchant, 
under the passport system, to enter the interior of 
the country either for trade or the preaching of the 
Gospel. 

5. And there stands the solemn revocation, by im- 
perial authority, of all those persecuting edicts 
which in the past have been fulminated against 
Christianity, native Christians, and foreign mis- 
sionaries. 

Such, we believe, is the present auspicious attitude 
of the Chinese government with regard to the im- 
portant questions before us, and our view is support- 
ed by the highest authorities both native and foreign. 
The change is truly wonderful, and we incline to be- 
lieve it will be permanent. However tardy the 
Chinese government may have been in recognizing 
the grave crisis that had arisen in its affairs, and 
however reluctant it may have been to accede to the 
reasonable demands of the allies, it now evidently 
begins to appreciate its true position, and is disposed 
to execute in good faith the provisions of the recent 
treaties. It is highly probable, indeed, that the Chi- 
nese government may hereafter seek to evade or mis- 
construe the clear purport of some provisions con- 
tained in the treaties, and possibly western nations 
may be compelled to support their rights by force ; 
but we conceive it impossible for it now to retrace its 
steps or annul its recent action. Progress is inevita- 
ble ; and we believe that CJrina is now thrown open 
fairly, fully, and, we hope, finally, to Christianity and 
foreign intercourse. 

We here present some of the aspects of China as a 



DECADENCE OF EELIGIOUS SYSTEMS. 343 

mission field. The discussion of this topic brings ns 
upon ground that cannot fail to interest all classes of 
readers. 

The first point we notice is the entire absence, at 
the present day, of all healthy progress in the relig- 
ious systems, literature, and civilization of the Chi- 
nese. Religious faith can scarcely be predicated of 
the Chinese in our day. Their present position on 
this subject differs widely and sadly from what we 
have supposed it was in the period of their early his- 
tory. We have witnessed the utter materialization 
of their ancient religious faith ; and the vagaries of 
Tauism and Budhism have so stultified and bewil- 
dered their moral sense, that now the Chinese appar- 
ently refuse to think at all upon the subject. A 
stoical indifference with regard to this vital question 
pervades all classes of society ; indeed, the man who 
manifests any serious concern about it is regarded by 
his neighbors as a knave or a fool. Their religious 
practices are multifarious, and though frequently dis- 
cordant and contradictory, they still exert great in- 
fluence over nearly all classes of society. And yet 
the religious systems of China seem to be utterly 
incapable of inspiring the national mind with any 
definite aim, any concentration of energy or enthu- 
siasm of faith. They contain no great idea, the 
development of which must stir the heart and mould 
the character of the nation; no popular divinity, 
whose fancied utterances sway the masses and con- 
trol the public sentiment ; no symbol of faith, devia- 
tion from which is at once sacrilege and treason. 
Their priests are fired by no missionary zeal; no 



344 CHINA AS A MISSION" FIELD. 

new phases of idolatry are presented ; no aggressive 
measures are devised for the propagation of their 
tenets ; and all sects seem the victims of a deep and 
fatal atrophy, which already foreshadows their ntter 
abnegation. It is possible, we think, to assign the 
causes that have produced this fearful apathy and 
infidelity with regard to religious subjects. The 
materializing philosophy, to which we have already 
referred, has fossilized the ancient Chinese faith. 
Tauism has forfeited all claims to public respect by 
its low jugglery and buffoonery ; while the tenets of 
Budhism, by clashing with some of the noblest 
hereditary instincts of the Chinese character, have 
ever failed in China to receive hearty approval or 
belief. 

Chinese literature exhibits similar symptoms of 
exhaustion. Centuries ago it reached the zenith of 
its excellence. Confucius, Mencius, Ma Twan Sin, 
Chu Hi, and others have successively impressed and 
enriched it by their powerful genius ; but within the 
last six hundred years we search in vain for the 
names of profound scholars or original thinkers. 
The perfection of education now consists in a passion- 
less imitation of the ancient masters ; to-day every 
student in China is conning not merely the same 
ideas, but the very words that were written some 
two thousand years ago. The national mind is ever 
looking backward for its maxims, principles, and 
models. Its millennium is in the past, and each suc- 
cessive year is but drifting it farther away from those 
pure intellections and rapt harmonies. Occasionally, 
indeed, we meet with a Chinese scholar who seems 



STAGNATION OF LITEKATUEE. 345 

desirous of increasing his stock of ideas, or find a 
modern work which gives evidence of an inquiring 
mind; bnt these instances are very rare, and serve 
only to indicate and intensify our conception of the 
utter stagnation of independent, joyous thought in 
Chinese literature. This comparative barrenness of 
the national intellect cannot be attributed to any 
fancied opposition of the present (Tartar) dynasty to 
the development of native genius. It is true, indeed, 
that some of the earlier Tartar emperors were in- 
clined to undervalue, and even sought to destroy the 
admirable system of popular education that prevails 
in China, but under Kienlung this opposition was 
abandoned. Besides, it will appear on examination 
that during the period of this dynasty the native 
mind has been more active than it was during the 
Ming dynasty, which immediately preceded it. The 
causes of this intellectual sterility are radical and 
permanent. The Chinese mind has exhausted itself 
on the narrow range of subjects to which it has been 
confined. Deprived of the inspiration which springs 
from communion with the truths of revelation, and 
shut off from the stimulating influences of Western 
literature, the intellect of China has depleted itself 
by a blind, servile imitativeness, and by finical dis- 
sertations on topics destitute alike of any broad, 
genial basis of truth, and of any well-defined rela- 
tions to any of the great practical questions of the day. 
The civilization of China, under existing influ- 
ences, is hopelessly effete. It has exhausted its in- 
herent powers of progress. From the earliest period 
of authentic Chinese history it has possessed all the 



346 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 

essential features of its present state; scarcely any 
change even has passed upon it for centuries. At 
this day the soil is plowed, the seed sown, the harvest 
gathered, the mulberry and silk-worm cultivated, the 
cloth woven, the China-ware prepared, the tea cured, 
society controlled, the state governed, the arts of 
handicraft practiced, and all the sources of wealth 
husbanded as they were two thousand years ago. It 
seems incredible that the civilization of any people 
should remain stationary at such an advanced state 
through so many centuries, but the fact is substanti- 
ated by the clearest historic evidence. One remem- 
bers how the civilization of all other ancient nations 
has culminated, and sunk into luxury, licentiousness, 
and barbarism. "What are those conservative ele- 
ments which have kept Chinese civilization steadily 
up to its present standard ? The Christian need not 
pause for a reply. He finds such elements in the 
influences of those divine truths underlying the an- 
cient faith of China, which in all ages have produced 
a powerful and highly conservative effect in the for- 
mation of the national mind. The thorough educa- 
tion of the Chinese, in the very reasonable teachings 
of their ancient classics, has done much to save them 
from utter demoralization under the vitiating influ- 
ences of Tauism and Budhism. Even their respect 
for parents, heathenish as it has become, may have 
contributed toward securing to -them " the length of 
days" in "the land given them by the Almighty," 
which is promised to those who obey the fifth com- 
mandment of our decalogue. 

The second point we notice is that China now 



INDICATIONS OF CHANGES. 347 

gives the most convincing evidence of being on the 
eve of great changes. What will be the nature 
of these changes we do not now stop to inquire; 
it is sufficient for our present purpose to indicate and 
illustrate the fact to which we have referred. We 
confess to a. hearty interest in this subject, though 
we fancy ourselves free from any untoward bias, or 
the swaying influence of any preconceived theory on 
the subject. No intelligent observer can look on the 
present aspect of affairs in China without noticing 
her unprecedented and critical position. It requires 
no magician to cast her horoscope, and detect in its 
struggling and conflicting elements the inception and 
proximate development of strange events. Let us 
notice some of these indications. 

First, we refer to the fact that among all intelli- 
gent and thoughtful Chinese with whom we come in 
contact, there exists an. almost unanimous conviction 
or presentiment that a great crisis in their national 
affairs is at hand. They state that every great change 
in their past history has been heralded by certain 
signs or omens, and that in the times through which 
we are now passing, both the heavens and the earth 
are giving out unequivocal indications of approaching 
great events. It is true, doubtless, that most if not 
all of these supposed omens are imaginary or ficti- 
tious, and it would be impossible to discover any 
legitimate connection between them and the results 
anticipated by the Chinese ; still the fact of such a 
widely spread presentiment on the subject carries 
with it considerable force, even though we may ex- 
plain away much of the evidence adduced in its sup- 



34:8 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 

port. History furnishes many instances of similar 
presentiments that have been fulfilled, and the circum- 
stances of the present case forcibly remind us of that 
expectation which prevailed throughout the world 
when, " in the fullness of time," the Saviour was born. 
Secondly, we may refer to the palpable weakness 
of the present government of China. We hope not 
to be misunderstood in introducing this topic. It is 
not our design to decry the present government of 
that great country ; its abrogation is not at all essen- 
tial to our line of argument. Its form is probably 
better suited to the character of the Chinese than 
any other that could be devised, and it is altogether 
unlikely that any succeeding dynasty would essen- 
tially modify it. The reigning dynasty is, perhaps, 
as liberal and enlightened as we could rationally 
expect. We believe foreign diplomatists find, on 
personal acquaintance, that the Tartar portion of the 
officers of China are less bigoted and arbitrary than 
those who are of Chinese origin. After all, however, 
the fact remains that hitherto the policy of the pres- 
ent dynasty has been antiforeign and antichristian ; 
and it is entirely probable that the present emperor, 
if he had the power, would gladly carry out this ex- 
clusive policy to the furthest limit. Traditionally 
identified with such a policy, and persistently refusing 
to receive truthful information concerning other parts 
of the world, it is matter for gratulation that his 
power is unequal to his will, and that a consciousness 
of weakness constrains him now to adopt a line of 
policy for which, hitherto, justice and humanity have 
pleaded in vain. Poverty and official corruption are 




POLITICAL CORRUPTION. 349 

the powerful agencies operating to exhaust the re- 
sources of the present dynasty. It is saddening to 
observe the shifts to which the government is now 
driven to replenish its exchequer. Official rank and 
titles which, according to every high national instinct 
of the Chinese, had previously been conferred only 
on the successful candidates at the literary examina- 
tions, are now publicly sold to the highest bidder; 
and by all parties among the people gold is now con- 
sidered more potent than brains in procuring these 
coveted honors. The national currency has been 
tampered with and depreciated until it would seem 
that political quackery had exhausted itself on the 
subject. Opium, which was long on the list of con- 
traband articles, and against the use of which by its 
subjects all the power and influence of the govern- 
ment were ostensibly directed, is now placed on the 
list of imports, and from it the government expects to 
derive a large revenue. Official corruption prevails 
to a frightful extent. We are in possessiou of un- 
doubted facts on this point, which, to those unac- 
quainted with Chinese politics, would appear utterly 
incredible. Office is now sought as the only avenue 
to certain wealth. All departments of business are so 
oppressed by the extortions of government officials 
that it is almost useless for any private person to lay 
up money. His property is not safe for an hour ; it 
is only the man of official rank who can revel in in- 
dolence and luxury, undisturbed by any fears of crim- 
inal charges and interminable processes of litigation. 
Thirdly, we adduce the influence of the cele- 
brated Tai Ping rebellion. Our train of thought in 






350 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 

this paragraph is not predicated on the supposed tri- 
umph of this rebellion ; so far, indeed, as our present 
purpose is concerned, it is about the same to us 
whether the movement succeeds or fails. Nor is it 
predicated on the supposed genuine conversion of the 
insurgents to Christianity. Even yielding this point, 
we still have sufficient for our present design. 
Among other prominent facts relating to this move- 
ment, we hold the following to be indisputable: 
About ten years ago a party of Chinese reformers in 
the Kwangsi province came into violent collision with 
the government authorities. "Within a year from 
their first battle the forces of these reformers or in- 
surgents had overrun most of the southern provinces 
of China, and in 1853 they made their triumphant 
entry into Nankin, where they established the capital 
of their soi-disant empire. During the past ten years 
they have waged an incessant though desultory war- 
fare against the reigning dynasty of China, and in 
their fortifications at Nankin have, to the present 
hour, effectually held at bay the entire power of the 
government. They profess to believe the cardinal 
doctrines of the Bible, and to regulate their lives ac- 
cording to its precepts ; have printed and circulated 
those portions of the sacred Scriptures in their pos- 
session, proclaim the existence of the triune God, de- 
nounce all forms of idolatry, demolish heathen tem- 
ples, destroy idols, and, according to their imperfect 
notions on the subject, seek to establish the worship 
of the one living and true God. These are some of 
the great and significant facts presented by this most 
remarkable movement, and their influence among the 



THE EEBELLION. 351 

Chinese can never be fully counteracted by the hypoc- 
risy, fanaticism, rapine, and bloodshed which, in too 
many instances, have attended and disgraced its 
career. 

What will be the ultimate issue of this great strug- 
gle it is impossible now to foretell ; we may, how- 
ever, conceive somewhat adequately of the influence 
it must exert on the Chinese. The astonishing suc- 
cess of the insurgents has filled the nation with 
surprise, and compels the reigning dynasty to a 
restatement of its assumed divine right to govern the 
eighteen provinces of China. The respective claims 
of the reigning dynasty and of the insurgent chief to 
such high authority, are now freely discussed in the 
forum of public opinion ; it is considered, indeed, a 
drawn game, which only the success of one of the 
parties can decide. In a religious aspect the influ- 
ence of this movement must be profound and far- 
reaching. Such an authoritative assertion of their 
ancient, monotheistic faith, such an overwhelming 
judgment against idolatry, the 42hinese never before 
witnessed. 

The history of the world scarcely furnishes 
a parallel to the iconoclastic enthusiasm of the 
insurgents. The knowledge of their principles cir- 
culates everywhere, and the empire resounds with 
the reports of their prowess. China never before 
looked on such a Cromwellian chief, never listened 
to the heavy tread of sucli "ironsides." In no 
other land has Christianity ever had such a precur- 
sor, in no age has the Saviour ever had such a " John 
the Baptist." 



352 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 

Lastly, in this connection, we notice the influence 
of western diplomacy in the affairs of China. The 
days of China's fancied omnipotence are mimbered. 
No dash of the vermilion pencil can now confine 
" outside barbarians " to their frozen latitudes in the 
" Northwestern ocean," and withhold from them the 
luxuries and " civilizing influences " of the " middle 
kingdom." No more flaming dispatches shall be for- 
warded to Pekin by bombastic governors or vaporing 
generals, delighting the imperial heart with poetical 
descriptions of " the blowing up of foreign ships," 
" the annihilation of foreign armies," " driving for- 
eigners into the sea," " foreigners humbly supplica- 
ting the imperial clemency," and similar forms of 
speech. China is no longer isolated ; no longer the 
Ultima Tliule of nations. The religion, civilization, 
and commerce of modern times have all passed " the 
pillars of Hercules ;" and henceforth, in the broad 
East, also, are to develop their vast resources. It 
matters little who may now, or hereafter, fill the 
throne of China ; the programme of his foreign policy 
is marked out for him by a power whose influence he 
cannot eliminate, whose utterances he may not disre- 
gard. During the past twenty years the influence of 
western governments has steadily and rapidly ad- 
vanced in China. It requires no prophetic vision to 
foresee the changes which the introduction of this 
element will soon produce in the affairs of this yast 
empire. 

We now briefly refer to the present appreciable re- 
sults of Protestant missionary efforts for the evangel- 
ization of the Chinese. Preliminary thereto we pre- 



REV. DR. MORRISON. 353 

sent a brief historic resume of the prominent facts 
bearing on the subject. 

The Rev. Robert Morrison, D. D., the first Protest- 
ant missionary to the Chinese, arrived at Canton in 
1807, bnt so bitter was the hostility of the Chinese 
government to Christianity that it was impossible for 
him to prosecute his labors as a missionary. To 
maintain any footing at all in China he was compelled 
to accept the office of translator to the East India 
Company in China, and to his great grief and disap- 
pointment he was never permitted to engage publicly 
in the work of preaching the Gospel to the Chinese. 
The utmost he was able to accomplish in this direc- 
tion was a regular private service, in his own apart- 
ments, with his servants and a few others. Thus 
providentially shut up to the retirement of his study, 
he devoted his time and energies to the preparation 
of his celebrated dictionary of the Chinese language, 
to the translation of the Bible into Chinese, and to 
the prosecution of such other labors as might aid in 
forwarding the great cause so dear to his heart. 

During the interim between Dr. Morrison's arrival 
in China and 1830, all Protestant efforts for the con- 
version of the Chinese were carried on at stations 
among the islands of the Malayan Archipelago, whith- 
er the Chinese had emigrated. The most important 
of these stations were at Malacca, Batavia, Penang, 
Ehio, Borneo, and Singapore, where the Chinese had 
colonized in large numbers. These missions were in- 
itiated in 1815 by the Rev. William Milne, D. D., 
who, under the auspices of the London Missionary 

Society, established a mission to the Chinese at Ma- 

23 



354 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 

lacca. Considered in itself, the field thus entered was 
most difficult and unpromising, but at the time it was 
the best position the Protestant Churches could ob- 
tain ; and in the hope that it would finally become a 
point of entrance to China, they entered on the work 
with a courage and perseverance rarely if ever sur- 
passed in the history of missions. Honor to the he- 
roic spirits who, under such disadvantages and 
against such fearful odds, commenced the glorious 
struggle with the heathenism of China ! 

Dr. Medhurst, in 1837, gives the following summary 
of their labors : " Since the commencement of their 
missions they have translated the Holy Scriptures, 
and printed 2,000 complete Bibles in two sizes, 10,000 
Testaments, and 30,000 separate books, and upward 
of half a million of tracts, in Chinese ; besides 4,000 
Testaments and 150,000 tracts, in the languages of 
of the Malayan Archipelago, making about twenty 
millions of printed pages. About 10,000 scholars 
have passed through the mission schools ; nearly one 
hundred persons have been baptized, and several na- 
tive preachers have been raised up, one of whom has 
proclaimed the Gospel to his countrymen and endured 
persecution for Jesus's sake." 

Dr. Williams, in 1848, says : " Since this [the fore- 
going extract] was written, the number of pages print- 
ed and circulated has been more than doubled ; the 
number of scholars taught has increased to 12,000, 
and preaching has been proportionably attended to, 
while a few more have been baptized." Shortly 
after the close of the war between China and England 



o 



(1843) these missions were transferred to China. 



PKOTESTANT MISSIONS. 355 

The first Protestant mission to the Chinese, on the 
territory of China, was commenced at Canton in 1830 
by the Rev. E. C. Bridgman, D.D., nnder the auspices 
of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign 
Missions. The government of China, however, con- 
tinued its hostility to the Christian religion, and so 
persistently did it trammel and thwart the mission, in 
all its plans for aggressive action, that it was not till 
1844 the mission was fairly established. During the 
period from 1844 to the present time (1859) Protest- 
ant missions have been established, and carried for- 
ward at Hong Kong and the five open ports of China. 
The entire number of Protestant missionaries to the 
Chinese is 213, of whom 69 retired from the work, 32 
labored only in the archipelago ; 21 labored partly in 
the archipelago, partly in China, and the others en- 
tered directly on the work in China. At present 
there are 110 Protestant missionaries to the Chinese, 
either in China or absent expecting soon to return to 
their field of labor. Thirty nine have died in con- 
nection with the work. 

The foregoing statement, meager as it is, may per- 
haps indicate the embarrassments and difficulties 
against which Protestant missionaries to the Chinese 
have contended from the commencement of their 
operations to the present time. And when we bear 
in mind the vastness of the field, both in geographical 
area and amount of population, the labor necessary 
to acquire the general language and local dialects of 
the empire, and the deeply rooted superstitions of 
the Chinese, we shall be ready to accept anything 
short of utter discomfiture and defeat as a positive 



356 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 

success in the prosecution of this work. "We hope, 
however, to show that the results, already apparent, 
are of the most substantial and cheering character ; 
that they amply compensate the Church for all her 
past efforts, and furnish sure promise of a glorious 
consummation in the future. 

First, we notice that, with regard to the ultimate 
evangelization of China, a great work of preparation 
has already been accomplished. This has been 
effected both among the home Churches and in China. 
At home we observe a rapidly increasing interest on 
the part of Christians in the spiritual welfare of the 
Chinese. We have convincing proof of this in the 
advancing contributions of the churches for the cause 
of God in China, and in the growing desire on the 
part of young men to devote themselves to this work. 
This result is to be attributed mainly, we think, to 
the published narratives of missionary operations in 
China, to the correspondence of missionaries with the 
home societies and Churches, to the books they have 
published on the subject, to their translations from 
the original Chinese, and to their public addresses 
and appeals during occasional visits to their native 
lands. In China a great work has been done in the 
preparation of dictionaries, vocabularies, grammars, 
and other books designed to facilitate the acquisition 
of the general language and local dialects of the em- 
pire. A vast fund of practical wisdom has been 
accumulated from experience in the field with refer- 
ence to the conservation of health, the best methods 
of labor, the regions of country most accessible to 
missionary labor, the classes of people most likely to 



MISSIONARY OPERATIONS. 357 

listen to the Gospel message, and the best appliances 
for the promotion of the general canse. Four com- 
plete translations of the Old and New Testaments 
have "been made into the general language of China ; 
and many other translations of the New Testament, 
either in whole or in part, have been made both into 
the general language and local dialects. 

It is impossible to estimate with accuracy the 
number of Christian books that have been published 
and distributed in China since 1843. Taking, how- 
ever, as the basis of our calculation the operations of 
one society in this department, whose report is now 
before us, we estimate that during the past seventeen 
years there have been published annually in China, 
about twenty millions of pages of Christian books. 
These books have been sent throughout the empire. 
Carried by the native merchant and student, they 
have gone where the foot of the missionary has never 
trod, and have silently and surely sown the good seed 
of the kingdom. Schools for the Chinese have been 
connected with nearly all the Protestant missions at 
the open ports, and thousands of the youth of China 
have received in them the rudiments of a Christian 
education. "We do not suppose that all thus educated 
have or will become Christians, but we must believe 
the amount of Christian knowledge thus imparted is 
doing something to prepare the way of the Lord in 
China. At the open ports, and at Hong Kong, the 
different missions have erected suitable edifices for 
churches, chapels, school-houses, and private resi- 
dences ; and when we bear in mind the exigencies of 
a strange climate, and the fact that for many years 



358 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 

to come these open ports will continue to be great 
centers of missionary operations and interest, we can 
estimate the value of these appliances in connection 
with the prosecution of the work. 

Secondly, we notice some of the results already 
obtained. There are now about twenty Chinese 
Churches, comprising nearly two thousand members, 
connected with the Protestant missions in China. Of 
these perhaps one hundred are trained evangelists, 
engaged in preaching the Gospel to their countrymen. 
The work has spread beyond the limits of the open 
ports. In spite of government opposition and the 
restrictions of the former treaties, the Gospel has 
sounded out into the regions beyond, and some of our 
most nourishing Churches are in the country towns 
and villages. 

We notice also the growth and recent triumph, in 
the imperial cabinet of China, of a policy favorable 
to Christianity and foreign intercourse. It is not our. 
wish to magnify our office as missionaries, but we 
think it only fair that the Church should know the 
truth on this important and interesting subject. The 
thoughtful observer of Chinese politics, during the 
past seventeen years, could scarcely fail to notice that 
in the imperial cabinet at Pekin a fierce controversy 
was going on between the respective advocates of 
what might be designated the foreign and the anti- 
foreign policy. The complete history of this inter- 
esting and momentous struggle is for the present con- 
cealed from our view; but the vicissitudes of its 
progress were indicated, with tolerable distinctness, 
by frequent and significant movements in the outer 



INFLUENCE OF PROTESTANT MISSIONS. 359 

field of Chinese politics ; and from the character of 
those sent to fill the posts of high authority through- 
out the empire, it was always possible to ascertain 
whether the foreign or antiforeign policy was in the 
ascendant at Pekin. We do not mean to say that 
the operations of Protestant missions in China forced 
this question upon the imperial cabinet, and necessi- 
tated the controversy referred to ; but we do mean to 
declare our earnest- conviction and belief, that in the 
discussion and final adjustment of this question by 
the statesmen of China, the influence of Protestant 
missions was powerfully and favorably felt ; and that 
for the future maintenance of her integrity and sov- 
ereign independence, under the action of her recent 
treaties with England, France, Russia, and the United 
States, China regards the influence of Christian prin- 
ciples over these nations as the sheet-anchor of her 
safety and hope. We have not space at command 
for all the evidence that might be adduced in sup- 
port of this statement. It will be sufficient perhaps 
for us to state that until quite recently nearly all the 
diplomatic intercourse of both England and the 
United States with China has passed through the 
hands of Prostestant missionaries ; that by means of 
the press the Bible has been scattered throughout the 
empire, entering alike the cottage of the peasant and 
the palace of the mandarin ; that the lives and teach- 
ings of Protestant missionaries have furnished to the 
Chinese convincing proof of the superior excellence of 
Christian doctrines; that Chinese officers, in their 
interviews with foreign diplomatists, have sometimes 
shown a surprising familiarity with these doctrines; 



360 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 

and that in some of their official communications the 
Chinese authorities have assumed it as a primary 
truth, that the motives and principles which control 
the conduct of western nations are drawn from the 
Bible. We therefore feel authorized to assign to 
Protestant missions in China a prominent place 
among the influences which have contributed to open 
up the Chinese empire to Christianity and foreign 
intercourse. 

The last result to which we shall refer is the great 
Tai Ping insurrection, which during the past seven 
years has marched its victorious legions through 
most of the southern provinces of China, and on 
more than one occasion has sent trembling even 
within the walls of Pekin. We are not yet in pos- 
session of sufficient data for a thorough analysis of 
this wonderful movement. Enough is known, how- 
ever, to show that it is a direct result of Protestant 
missionary operations, and that as a religious system, 
notwithstanding its great and lamentable defects, 
it is far in advance of the hoary heathenism of 
China. 

These results, we conceive, challenge the confidence 
and gratitude of the Church, and furnish the most 
convincing evidence that even in our day, and 
operating through the appliances of modern mis- 
sions, the Gospel comes, " not in word only, but also 
in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much 
assurance." 

With regard to the future progress of the Gospel 
in China the following encouraging facts should be 
considered : 



ENCOURAGING FACT. 361 

1. The Chinese are a gregarious or clannish people. 
They move in masses, the crowd always following in 
the wake of a few courageous leaders. 

2. The missionary work in China is simple evan- 
gelism. In most mission fields the missionary must 
combine in his own person the farmer, the trades- 
man, the schoolmaster, etc. ; but in China his one 
great work is to " preach the word." 

3. The Chinese have been trained to support their 
systems of religion, and it is altogether probable they 
contribute more money in proportion to their pecu- 
niary ability for the maintenance of their idolatrous 
worship than it will cost them to support the institu- 
tions of Christianity. 

4. China will supply Christian pastors just as fast 
as they are required in the progress of the work. 
The following remarks on this topic, by the Rev. J. 
Doolittle, of the American Board mission at Fuh- 
chau, are here introduced, and commended to the 
serious attention of all interested in this important 
subject : 

" Last Sabbath evening I attended the usual Chinese 
service held in the church belonging to the mission 
of the American Board at this place. Three young 
men, members of the native Church under care of 
that mission, two of whom are employed as native 
helpers, addressed the congregation, followed by clos- 
ing remarks by the missionary in charge of the 
meeting. 

" The first speaker, aged twenty, had a very bashful 
appearance. His delivery was rather monotonous. 
His remarks, however, indicated him to be a sober 



362 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 

and earnest thinker. He took as his subject the 
closing part of the fifth chapter of Matthew, and ex- 
plained at considerable length the manner in which 
Jesus taught his disciples to treat their slanderers 
and enemies. The way in which he handled this sub- 
ject, as well as the subject itself, conciliated and in- 
terested the audience. He alluded to several cus- 
toms of the Chinese, and quoted some of their 
maxims, relating to their treatment of enemies, and 
exhibited in marked and impressive contrast the 
principles which the Saviour laid down as rules for 
the guidance of his followers, in regard to those who 
' cursed,' who ' hated,' and who ' despitefully used 
and persecuted them.' I could not but be grateful 
. for such plain and earnest remarks on this subject, so 
different from anything which exists either in theory 
or practice among the Chinese. 

"The second speaker, aged twenty-five, so far as 
concerned his manner of delivery, was much more 
pleasing and oratorical than the first. He announc- 
ed as his theme John xv, 25, ' They hated me with- 
out a cause,' and proceeded to show the unreasona- 
bleness of the common objections made by the 
Chinese against Jesus. He declared that his text 
was fulfilled in Fuhchau, in that Jesus was hated 
without a cause. While he exposed, in a masterly 
manner, the sophistry of the popular excuses and 
objections against the Christian religion, he did 
not fail to notice the real reasons why the Chi- 
nese do not believe in the Saviour. His words 
were simple, yet pointed, and his meaning un- 
mistakable. His appeals were bold and search- 



NATIVE PREACHERS. 363 

ing. I felt grateful when he closed that the truth 
had been spoken so earnestly, and at the same time 
so kindly. 

" The third speaker, aged twenty, discoursed from 
Matt, x, 28. His voice was sharp and quick, yet 
quite distinct. He explained and enforced, in a 
pleasing and direct manner, the duty of every one 
to fear God more than man. He spoke of the 
nature, the value, and the immortality of the soul 
in a way which rivetted the attention of the 
congregation. 

" He denied the sentiment which seems to "be enter- 
tained, in theory at least, by not a few learned Chi- 
nese, that the soul perishes when the body dies. The 
audience listened with a kind of wondering interest, 
while he urged them in a bold and spirited manner 
to fear and obey that Being 'who is able to destroy 
both soul and body in hell;' and not to fear man, 
who can only kill the body, but cannot kill the 
soul. 

" What has been said, as well as what has been left 
unsaid about the exercises of that evening, illustrates 
two interesting facts, which I believe to be eminently 
true of the native helpers at this port. I have had 
ample opportunities of judging in this matter ever 
since any converts were employed as helpers in the 
missionary work at Fuhchau. 

"1. The native helpers select very practical and im- 
portant subjects when addressing their countrymen. 
They do not love to dwell on abstruse, metaphysical, 
or far-fetched themes, nor are they fond of presenting 
exclusively doctrinal points. There is not much 



364 CHINA AS A MISSION" FIELD. 

science or philosophy or history embodied in their 
public addresses, but there is a great deal of most 
important truth relating to the most practical sub- 
jects, prescribed by them in an earnest and kind 
manner. 

" 2. They are not ashamed to speak out boldly for 
Jesus. They literally and emphatically 'stand up 
for Jesus' in all their discourses. Indeed, their 
preaching and their addresses are so full of Jesus, 
and contain so many allusions to the life and the 
doctrines of the Saviour as the only proper example 
and standard for men of all ages and all nations, as 
frequently to irritate many of their hearers. It is a 
very common occurrence to hear some of those who 
have been listening to their addresses say in sub- 
stance, on leaving, that of every ten sentences three or 
four have Jesus in them, or are about Jesus. An- 
other form of expressing the same idea is that ' one 
word out of every three is Jesus.' Not a few leave 
the chapel or the church in anger, uttering the 
above sentiment with loud and bitter curses on the 
native helpers. 

" Prayer in behalf of foreign missionaries, of native 
converts to Christianity in foreign lands, of Christian 
schools among the heathen, and of the heathen gen- 
erally, is very common among Christians in "Western 
countries. But I fear that especial prayer for the 
native helpers as a class, laboring for the conversion 
of their heathen countrymen, is rarely offered. So 
far as my experience and my recollection serve, such 
prayer was never or very seldom presented before 
the mercy-seat in family worship, in church .or neigh- 



NATIVE PEEACHEES. 365 

borhood prayer-meetings, or even in the monthly 
concert in America previous to my sailing for China. 
Has there been a great change for the better as re- 
gards this subject? "Would that I knew such a 
change had already been extensively made ! 

" The subject of prayer for native helpers is one of 
great and general importance, considered with refer- 
ence to the progress of the work in every missionary 
field. But I shall briefly present the subject viewed 
from China as my standpoint, for I feel that 
there are some grave considerations, some special 
reasons, why frequent and fervent prayer in behalf 
of the native helpers in China should be offered by 
the Church. 

" 1. China is so immense and so populous, its dis- 
tance so great from America and England, (the 
present centers of interest in the missionary cause,) 
and the necessary expense connected with the for- 
eign missionaries so large and constant, that it is 
idle to expect the evangelization of this empire main- 
ly by the labor of foreigners. And besides, the num- 
ber of missionaries and of candidates for the mission- 
ary work is immensely inadequate. The Church, at 
least in the present state of her zeal in the cause of 
missions, has neither the money nor the men to 
spare for the work in China. Can she send and sup- 
port annually several scores or hundreds, not to say 
thousands, of her sons and daughters in this empire 
to labor for Jesus ? ISTo ; China must be saved by 
the divine blessing resting principally on the labors 
of her own converted sons and daughters. Natwe 
preachers, under God, are her main hope. How im- 



366 CHINA AS A MISSION FIELD. 

portant, then, that suitable persons should be raised 
up at the right time and place, and in sufficient num- 
bers to meet the growing demands of the work — to 
respond to the loud call of Providence for more la- 
borers in this empire ! Is it reasonable and consist, 
ent to believe that the evangelization of China will 
be achieved without the importunate and effectual 
prayers of the Church in behalf of the native agents 
or instruments in the work ? Are the present or the 
future missionaries in this land, on whom will de- 
volve the responsibility of selecting, training, and 
superintending the native helpers, sufficient for such 
a responsibility, unaided by the sympathies and the 
prayers of western Christians, poured out before God 
in behalf of these helpers % 

" 2. 'As the twig is bent the tree is inclined,' is an 
old adage, which has a moral application of peculiar 
significancy and force in such an empire as China, 
where custom and precedent are generally more pow- 
erful than law or than right. The foundations 
should be properly laid if the superstructure is to be 
firm and durable. A low standard of piety and de- 
votion to the work in those who are first or among 
the first to be employed as native helpers or native 
preachers would be a calamity to be peculiarly 
dreaded and deprecated in this empire. Now may 
not, should not a deep and powerful interest be taken 
in this matter by those at the West who are co- 
workers in the promotion of the cause of missions in 
this land ? 

" Ought they not, and will they not offer up 
special and frequent prayer in behalf of native 



NATIVE PREACHERS. 367 

helpers or native preachers in China, in view of the 
transcendent importance of rightly beginning as well 
as of rightly prosecuting the work by the instrument- 
ality of converted Chinese ?" 



368 APPEAL TO THE CHURCHES. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

APPEAL TO THE CHURCHES. 

"We pass to notice the claims of this new era in 
Chinese history upon the Churches of Christendom. 
We feel authorized to use this expression to designate 
the present aspect of affairs in China. The former 
things have evidently passed away, and this nation 
now stands on the threshold of a new era in her his- 
tory. The abrogation of her* exclusive policy, the 
rescinding of her persecuting edicts against Christi- 
anity, the permission to her subjects to embrace the 
Christian faith, and the authorization of missionaries 
to travel and preach the doctrines of this faith 
throughout the empire, are all significant indications 
of the great change that has passed over the govern- 
ment of China. Observe also the spread of liberal 
ideas in China, the steady growth of foreign influence 
in its councils, and the rapid extension of foreign 
trade and intercourse, with capacities for future un- 
limited expansion. While I am penning these lines 
an English expedition is steaming some eight hund- 
red miles up the broad bosom of the Yang-tsze-kiang, 
through waters never before cut by foreign keels, 
right into the heart of China. The expedition is ex- 
pected to reach Hankow, the great inland commer- 



WANTS OF CHINA. 369 

cial mart of China, situated in the province of Hupeh, 
to examine this celebrated city, and at the same time 
to test in this practical manner the value of the re- 
cent treaty provisions, and the sincerity of the Chi- 
nese with regard to their execution. "What, then, 
are some of the most urgent claims of China in this 
new phase of her history in the Churches of Christ ? 
She demands, 

1. A CORDIAL APPRECIATION OF HER CHARACTER 

AND wants. The discovery of a new planet in the 
solar system at once changes the previously supposed 
relations between its bodies, and necessitates a recon- 
struction of theories and a readjustment of the recog- 
nized celestial influences. The discovery by Colum- 
bus of the Western continent gave a new phase and 
direction to history, and initiated a series of political 
evolutions which has culminated in the ascendancy 
of Protestantism, and the enthronement of Protestant 
governments as the ruling powers of the world. The 
advent of China into the great family of nations in- 
troduces *a new and potent element into the world's 
politics, disturbs the previously existing relations and 
affinities, and necessitates a stern conflict of princi- 
ples and interests, the development of which is yet 
future, and the history of which is yet to be written. 
The time has gone by when ignorance of China char- 
acterized alike all classes of society, and when Chris- 
tians might innocently shut out from their sympa- 
thies and evangelism its myriads of people. By 
her own recent and authoritative acts China has 
placed herself as it were within the pale of Christen- 
dom, and has precipitated the inevitable conflict 

24 



370 APPEAL TO THE CHUECHES. 

between truth and error. The grand tournament 
has already opened; Christianity and heathenism, in 
utter antagonism, have entered the lists, and further 
evasion or procrastination is impossible. For weal 
or woe, the question of supremacy must now be de- 
cided ; and when heathenism shall quail and expire 
in the presence of a purer faith, then will commence 
the final struggle between Protestantism and Koman- 
ism for supremacy in this the grandest empire of the 
world. 

It would be impossible, within the limits of this 
chapter, even to name all the wants of China ; we can 
now refer only to those of a moral or religious char- 
acter, and of these' we can present only the more 
prominent. First, then, we conceive a pure and sav- 
ing religious faith to be one of the great and impera- 
tive wants of China at the present day. The present 
position of China, with reference to this vital subject, 
is most lamentable. She has, indeed, no clearly de- 
fined principles of religious belief; the subject is 
practically ignored by nine tenths of the* Chinese. 
They have banished the Almighty from their 
thoughts, and by a daring apotheosis have enthroned 
man as the object of their faith and trust. The few 
rays of divine truth that may have illumined the 
minds of their ancient sages have been lost long since 
in the thick darkness of heathenism ; the light that 
once shone feebly on their altars has been extin- 
guished by a cold and sensuous atheism. The entire 
range of Chinese literature furnishes no possible basis 
for a rational religious faith, touching those subjects 
that most nearly and powerfully afiect man's destiny. 



WANTS OF CHINA. 371 

"We search it in vain for those principles and influ- 
ences which purify and exalt humanity. As a na- 
tion, the Chinese are utterly "without God and 
without hope in the world." This we consider the 
radical and fatal defect in their social and political 
compact. If proof or illustration of this remark is 
needed, we refer to the patent facts of their past 
history and present condition. For centuries ths 
Chinese have possessed, in different degrees of excel- 
lence and efficiency, civilization, literature, social 
order, and political government; and yet they have 
failed to obtain the grand results contemplated. 
Their civilization, literature, and political economy 
have become effete, while their ancient religious faith 
has degenerated into bald atheism. Never was there 
a more promising field for the trial of those godless 
humanitarian theories of social organization so ful- 
somely lauded by some modern writers in Christen- 
dom, and yet the experiment has resulted in utter 
failure^ All healthy progress ceased centuries ago; 
♦ conservatism even has exhausted its resources, and 
henceforth there remains for China no alternative 
but the introduction of a new element into its politi- 
cal system, or utter deterioration and ruin. This 
new element is to be found only in the pure and 
simple faith of the Gospel. Christianity is China's 
last and only hope. 

Another want of China, pertinent to her present 
position, is the exemplification of this pure and sav- 
ing faith in the lives of holy men and women. It is 
probably true of men, in all countries and in every 
stage of intellectual culture, that their conceptions of 



372 APPEAL TO THE CHURCHES. 

tlie good and the true are always in advance of their 
actual performances. It certainly is most strikingly 
characteristic of the Chinese in our day. They are 
prone to revel in dreams or fancies of ideal probity 
and virtue ; they seem to possess a delicate apprecia- 
tion of those higher and mental traits which result 
from superior education and refinement; and yet no 
other people in the world furnish such an utter contrast 
between their conceptions and practice. The Chris- 
tian missionary descants on the pure morality of the 
Gospel, and the educated Chinese will express their 
enthusiastic indorsement of every sentiment uttered ; 
and yet at the close of the discussion which they ap- 
peared so highly to appreciate as a mental exercita- 
tion, they pass, without the slightest compunction, to 
lying, cheating, idolatry, and licentiousness, from the 
debasing influences of which you would suppose they 
were invincibly shielded by their refined mental 
tastes. They, in fact, conceive it to be impossible 
for one's practice even to approximate his own 
ideal of moral excellence, and fortify their posi- 
tion by the corroborating experience of their entire 
nation. 

The last want of China to which we shall refer in 
this connection, is the Christian preacher to expound 
and enforce the principles of this faith. " How shall 
they hear without a preacher ?" It has pleased God, 
by " the foolishness of preaching," to carry forward 
his kingdom in the world. This agency is admira- 
bly suited to the "character and wants of the Chinese. 
Their written language is so concise and arbitrary 
that more than one half of the Chinese can scarcely 



DEMANDS OF CHINA. 373 

use it at all. Throughout perhaps three fourths of 
the empire, colloquial dialects have growu up along- 
side this written language ; and it is in these dialects 
the mass of the Chinese think, and feel, and speak. 
Most of these dialects are readily and accurately ac- 
quired by a foreigner, while to master the most diffi- 
cult of them requires only a moderate amount of in- 
dustry and perseverance. Under present circum- 
stances, the first supplies of Christian preachers for 
China must come from abroad. She can furnish the 
congregations, but the men of God, the " embassa- 
dors for Christ," must come from other lands. 

We proceed to state, 

2. That, in view of her geeat and urgent 
wants, China now demands fervent, prevailing 
prayer in her behalf from the churches of 
Christ. In introducing this topic we are not care- 
ful to guard ourselves against the charge of enthu- 
siasm, or to conciliate any of our readers who may 
be disposed to turn away from the discussion of this 
topic. We are too thoroughly in earnest to be 
greatly affected by such considerations. The interests 
involved in this discussion are so stupendous, the 
events transpiring around us are so startling, and the 
issues before us are so momentous and far-reaching, 
that we are willing to sink ourselves in the grand re- 
sults contemplated. Our concern is for the ark of 
God, the cause of Christ ; and we shall be only too 
happy if what we now write on the subject shall con- 
tribute to the consummation of its glorious designs 
in that vast empire. We believe in the pertinency 
and efficacy of faithful prayer in this connection, and 



374 APPEAL TO THE CHUECHES. 

we rest our belief on the sure foundation of God's 
written word. It is unnecessary, we conceive, to 
quote those passages of Holy Writ which support 
this view ; their general purport has been well ex- 
pressed by Charles Wesley in his hymn : 

"0 wondrous power of faithful prayer! 

What tongue can tell the Almighty grace ? 
God's hands or bound or open are, 

As Moses or Elijah prays." 

We love to dwell upon this theme. Its important 
bearings on the present subject can scarcely be ex- 
aggerated. As a power for good, too, it possesses 
the singular excellence that every Christian may 
wield it. Whether rich or poor, learned or illiterate ; 
called by the Spirit to go forth preaching the word, 
or directed by the same Spirit to the soil, the anvil, 
the loom, the study, or the forum, all can pray for 
China. Apart from the word of God, and the power 
of his Spirit to make that word effectual in the heart 
of the believer, nothing in all our experience as a 
foreign missionary has so cheered and supported us 
as the thought that the holy cause in which we are 
engaged is remembered in the prayers of God's 
people. And we have asked, What if all the Chris- 
tian hearts throughout the world were to unite in 
earnest persevering prayer to God for the conversion 
of the Chinese ? What if for a year, for a month, for 
a week, for a day, or even for an hour, the entire 
body of Christian believers were to unite in prayer 
for the immediate conversion of the population of 
this mighty empire ! It is not our prerogative to in- 



PRAYER FOR CHINA. 375 

dicate or estimate the direct results of such an act of 
intercessory faith. What riches of grace, what treas- 
ures of mercy, what streams of instant salvation it 
would open for China, is known only to Him from 
whom nothing is hidden, and who has declared his 
willingness to be inquired of by the house of Israel 
concerning such things. 

Passing, however, from those " secret things " which 
" belong unto the Lord our God," we may conceive 
somewhat of the influence this grand act of faith 
would exert upon the Church. How it would rouse 
the sympathies, stir the energies, and fire the zeal of 
every Christian ! What searchings of heart it would 
produce ; what willing offerings of means and men 
for the evangelization of China would at once be 
laid on the altar of consecration ! We see no good 
reason why the Church should not now come up to 
the exercise of this high, commanding faith. No 
Christian doubts its possibility, and no one acquainted 
with the subject can suppose it would be unaccept- 
able to the Lord of the harvest. The times in which 
we live, and the present aspects of China, seem to de- 
mand just such faith. The world is manifestly ap- 
proximating that grand epoch concerning which 
"glorious things are spoken;" in the foreground of 
which stand the promises of the Gospel's marvelous 
spread and unprecedented triumphs in the world. 
We proceed to remark, 

3. That in view of her present wants, China 
demands from the churches of christ a thor- 
ough and comprehensive system of immediate 
evangelism. We do not stop now to argue the 



376 APPEAL TO THE CHURCHES. 

question of the Church's duty with regard to the 
proclamation of the Gospel throughout the world; 
the great body of Christians in our day recognize and 
accept their high commission on this subject, with all 
its vast and solemn responsibilities. We proceed at 
once to state the grounds on which China bases her 
demand upon the Christian Church for such a system 
of evangelism. 

First, we notice the cheering fact that China is 
now fairly and fully opened to receive the Gospel. 
We have already presented the evidence on which 
this statement rests. The Chinese government, in 
the recent treaty compacts, has publicly and solemnly 
pledged her faith and honor on this subject to the 
four leading nations of the world. It does not invali- 
date our position to assert that the government of 
China entered into this compact reluctantly, and only 
in consequence of an external pressure which she 
could.no longer withstand, and that she will gladly 
avail herself of the first favorable opportunity to an- 
nul her action on this question. Without entering 
into a full discussion of the subject, it is sufficient for 
our present purpose to state that the previous ex- 
clusive policy of the Chinese government was opposed 
alike to the word of God and the highest instincts of 
humanity ; that it was unjust to the people of China, 
and at variance with their views and wishes ; that its 
abrogation, without derogating from the sovereignty 
of the government, has conferred a priceless boon on 
the Chinese ; that, according to all recognized prin- 
ciples of analogy and evidence, the forces which have 
accomplished the overthrow of this exclusive policy 



CHINA OPEN TO THE GOSPEL. 377 

must inevitably and rapidly increase, and that, mean- 
while, the progress of Christianity among the people 
will prepare them so folly to appreciate the propriety 
and necessity of intercourse with Christian nations, 
that any return of their government to its former 
barbarous policy will be utterly impossible. It is a 
fact, substantiated by the clearest historic evidence, 
that the Chinese have always been a commercial 
people, and that, in former periods of their history, 
they solicited intercourse with foreign nations ; it is 
a fact that the exclusive policy of their government 
originated with the present dynasty ; it is a fact that, 
in spite of the restrictions of their government, the 
Chinese have always carried on a foreign commerce ; 
it is a fact that foreign influence is now sufficiently 
powerful in China to control the general policy of 
the government ; and it is now, we believe, univers- 
ally conceded that foreign influence in China must 
steadily increase for many years to come. In view 
of these facts, therefore, we feel entirely authorized 
to announce, distinctly and emphatically, that China 
is now fully open to the Gospel ; and that, in view 
of this fact, she is entitled to the best efforts of the 
Church for her evangelization. 

Secondly, we observe that, by her recent acts, 
China has placed herself within the power of influ- 
ences that must effect her utter demoralization, un- 
less counteracted by the principles of Christianity. 
The nation is breaking away from its ancient moor- 
ings ; the conservative influences that hitherto have 
controlled the national mind are fast losing their 
potency ; and if not succeeded by those ennobling in- 



378 APPEAL TO THE CHUKCHES. 

fluences which spring only from the principles of the 
Gospel, we can forecast nothing but disaster and rain 
for China. The lucrative trade carried on with 
China by Western nations has already attracted to 
her shores merchants and traders of all countries, re- 
ligious creeds, and social habits, and under the new 
treaty provisions their numbers will indefinitely in- 
crease. The commercial world now turns to China with 
the most absorbing interest. "Western capital is moving 
eastward for investment ; business men look to China 
for the rapid accumulation of wealth; young men 
press to it as the most quick and certain road to 
opulence; and the flags of all nations float in its 
capacious harbors. Within a few years that empire 
will be overspread by a vast net-work of commercial 
agencies and enterprises, the influence of which on 
the future character of the Chinese who can estimate ? 
A bald atheism, correlated by a stolid fatalism, has 
long been a prominent trait of the Chinese mind; 
and when to this are superadded the jealous compe- 
titions of extending commerce, and the maddening 
thirst for gold, we can, in some degree, appreciate 
the dangers to which China is exposed. It is vain to 
talk of the civilizing influences of commerce. Alas ! 
the history of the world shows only too plainly that 
commerce is a dangerous civilizer ; the wake of its 
progress is ever the engulfing maelstrom of licen- 
tiousness and barbarism. Apart from the influences 
of Christianity, there is no hope for China in foreign 
intercourse, western commerce, or western civilization 
and literature. Evangelization or demoralization is 
China's only alternative. 



ROMANISM IN THE FIELD. 379 

Thirdly, we notice that the forces of Romanism 
are already in the field, and are pushing forward their 
operations with resources and zeal worthy of a better 
cause. We are not in possession of very recent sta- 
tistics with regard to the operations of Roman Cath- 
olic missionaries in China. According to the "An- 
nales de la Propagation de la Foi " for June, 1839, there 
were then in China eight bishops, fifty-seven foreign 
priests, one hundred and fourteen native priests, and 
three hundred and three thousand converts, connected 
with the Romish Church. It is difficult to know just 
what amount of credence to assign to these statistics. 
Our impression is, however, that they do not over- 
state the case. Indeed, we think the number of for- 
eign priests in China has considerably increased since 
the foregoing statistics were published. The provis- 
ions of the recent treaties with China are exciting 
the liveliest interest throughout the ranks of Roman- 
ism. In the thirteenth article of the French treaty 
there is a clause declaring that " whatever has been 
heretofore written, proclaimed, or published in China, 
by order of government, against the Christian faith, is 
wholly abrogated and nullified in all the provinces of 
the empire." Under cover of this clause, the Romish 
missionaries in China declare their purpose to insti- 
tute claims against the Chinese government for the 
recovery of all their ancient Church property at 
Pekin and elsewhere throughout the empire, which 
was confiscated during former persecutions. If suc- 
cessful in this measure, as seems entirely probable, 
they at once will be in possession of wealth, prestige, 
and Church appliances which will be of immense 



380 APPEAL TO THE CHUECHES. 

advantage to them in the propagation of their faith 
among the Chinese. 

The preceding remarks indicate, with perhaps suf- 
ficient clearness, what we conceive to he the grounds 
of China's claim upon the Christian Church for a 
thorough and comprehensive system of evangelism. 
There is, however, one point more to which we wish 
briefly to refer. No thoughtful observer, we think, 
can fail to perceive that China has now reached a 
great and eventful crisis in her history; that she is 
now in a transition state, -passing through a formative 
process, during which she receives for weal or woe 
the impression of those influences which at the time 
are brought to bear upon her. If then it is desirable 
that China should ever be brought under the influ- 
ence of Christianity ; if it is, indeed, the duty of Chris- 
tians to proclaim to her people the words of life and 
salvation, now is the time to engage in this work 
with resources and energy commensurate with the 
imperative demands of the enterprise. Christians 
must at once gird themselves for this conquest, or the 
present golden opportunity may pass away forever. 
Again, it is well understood in political and commer- 
cial circles, that though China is theoretically and 
legally open to foreign intercourse, yet practically it 
will remain closed until foreign enterprise shall push 
its way and proclaim its immunities throughout the 
empire, and that, in order to give efficiency to the 
recent treaty pro visions, ( and make them the recog- 
nized laws of the land, foreigners must at once and 
in earnest avail themselves of all the privileges to 
which they are now entitled. These remarks apply 



EVANGELISM REQUIRED. 381 

with, equal pertinency and force to the Christian 
Church in her great work of evangelizing China. 
Civil authority has now done its work in opening the 
way ; it remains to be seen whether the Church pos- 
sesses sufficient faith and zeal to go up and claim this 
land in the name of her Lord and Master. 

We proceed now to notice briefly the character and 
proportions of that system of evangelism which China 
now demands from the Christian Church. What we 
have already written must convince every candid 
mind that the field now opening in China before the 
Christian Church is of an extraordinary character; 
that the demands now made on the aggressive ener- 
gies of the Church are unparallelled in her history, 
and that to meet these demands her preparations and 
plans must be on a scale of unprecedented magnitude 
and efficiency. It is the loudest and m»st urgent call 
ever made on the Church of Christ. What shall be 
her response? We confess to an unutterable solici- 
tude on this subject ; it presses upon us at times with 
a power and solemnity absolutely overwhelming. 
Let us, however, try to look at the subject calmly 
and faithfully. And, first, what is the character of 
that evangelism which China now demands from the 
Church ? Does she demand regular and stated pas- 
tors for native churches which may be gathered, or 
does she demand missionaries in their extraordinary 
character of apostle or evangelist? The latter view' 
seems to us the more reasonable and pertinent to the 
present aspects of the subject. We conceive the 
present need of China to be an adequate supply of 
holy, zealous missionaries, who, through the pulpit, 



382 APPEAL TO THE CHUECHES. 

the press, and the school, shall proclaim the glad 
tidings of salvation to all classes of Chinese through- 
out the empire. It is not, indeed, onr idea that each 
missionary shall take the empire for his parish ; this 
is rendered impracticable by the vast extent of the 
field and by the conflicting dialects of the people; 
but that the aggregate body of missionaries shall suf- 
fice to bring the Gospel message clearly and forcibly 
to every soul in China. A bold, triumphant evangel- 
ism, such as was instituted by the Saviour, is now the 
urgent want of China. Pastors for the Churches 
which may be gathered will be readily supplied, 
partly from the ranks of the missionaries, but mainly, 
in the progress and development of the work, from 
the class of native helpers whom God shall call and 
qualify for that purpose. 

What then must be the proportions of that system 
of evangelism which shall meet the present demands 
of China? We present a few facts and suggestions 
to aid the Church in answering this question. Within 
the eighteen provinces of China are fourteen hundred 
and seventy-three districts, each containing, on an aver- 
age, eight hundred and eighty-one square miles, and a 
population of two hundred and fifty thousand. What 
number of missionaries shall we assign to each of 
these districts ? Suppose, at our lowest estimate, we 
say two ; we shall then have one missionary to an 
area of four hundred and forty-one square miles, and 
to a populution of one hundred and twenty-five thou- 
sand, and the required number of missionaries will 
be two thousand nine hundred and forty-six. If we 
divide this number equally between the Churches of 



ABILITY OF THE CHURCH. 383 

Europe and the United States, we shall have fourteen 
hundred and seventy-three as the number of mission- 
aries China now demands from the Churches of Christ 
in America. What will it cost to send out and sup- 
port such a force of missionaries ? If two thirds go 
out married, at a cost, in each case, for outfit and 
passage, of $1,000 ; and one third go out unmarried, 
at a cost, in each case, for outfit and passage, of $600, 
the entire expense of sending out the proposed re-en- 
forcement is $1,276,600. For their annual expenses 
in the field, including personal support, house-rent, 
chapel and school purposes, etc., suppose we allow 
$1,200 for each married, and $800 for each unmarried 
missionary, and we have as the entire cost of support- 
ing such a body of missionaries $1,571,200. Are the 
Churches of the United States able to meet this ex- 
pense ? According to the estimate of a recent writer 
on the subject, (" Gift of Power," p. 91,) the amount 
of taxable real and personal estate of evangelical 
Christians, and those identified with them as mem- 
bers of their respective Church congregations in the 
United States, in 1854, was $6,332,542,679; "one 
tenth of the simple interest of which, at six per cent, 
per annum, makes $37,995,256 as, at the lowest com- 
putation, the annual available means of the Church 
of God in our land." Deduct now from this sum the 
annual cost of supporting the proposed number of 
missionaries in China, and there remains as the an- 
nual income of the Church in the United States, for 
the support of its home work, and its operations in 
other foreign mission fields, the immense sum of 
$36,424,056. 



384 APPEAL TO THE CHURCHES. 

If the statistics on which this calculation is based 
are reliable, (and we see no good reason to doubt 
their accuracy,) is it not evident that the Christian 
Churches of the United States are abundantly able, 
at this moment, to send out and support their one 
thousand four hundred and seventy-three missionaries 
for China ? and that, too, without the slightest detri- 
ment to any of their home or other foreign interests. 
Distribute the evangelical Christians of the United 
States into eight great missionary organizations, rep- 
resented respectively by the American Board of Com- 
missioners for Foreign Missions, the Presbyterian 
Board, the Protestant Episcopal Board, the Dutch 
Reformed Board, Baptist Board, North, Baptist Board, 
South, Methodist Episcopal Board, and Methodist 
Episcopal Board, South, and to each assign an equal 
portion of the aggregate annual resources of the 
Church, and also of the expenses of the proposed 
missionary re-enforcement. "We shall then have 
$4,749,407 as the annual available income of each 
society, while the annual demand on its funds for 
China is only $196,400 ; thus leaving in its treasury 
for other claims the enormous sum of $4,628,017. 
But why multiply proof or illustration of the point 
under discussion % No one, we think, can doubt the 
ability of the Church in the United States to send out 
and support the proposed re-enforcement of mission- 
aries ; and no one acquainted with the wants of China 
can believe that the number proposed is at all in ex- 
cess of the demand. 

What response shall we make to this call ? No one 
acquainted with the subject can suppose we have 



_ 



WHAT SHALL BE OUR RESPONSE ? 385 

made an exorbitant demand in behalf of China ; and 
no Methodist can donbt the ability of our Church to 
meet, at once and fully, her portion of the claim. 
The heart of Christendom now turns toward China 
with unprecedented solicitude and conviction of duty. 
Many Churches are already discussing and arranging 
their plans for aggressive operations in this great field 
on a scale of surpassing magnitude and thoroughness. 
Shall the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United 
States have a worthy part in this great aggressive 
movement of modern Christendom for the evangeliza- 
tion of China ? Shall we march our column to the 
front? Shall our banner float above the smoke of 
battle in this glorious war, or shall we abide in our 
cities, and jeeringly ask the gathering tribes of our 
Israel, " Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunnah now 
in thine hands?" Shall we be those who willingly 
offered themselves ? or those of Meroz, against whom 
the angel of the Lord hurled his bitter, scathing 
curse ? As Methodists, we conceive ourselves bound, 
by all our historic precedents and denominational in- 
stincts, to give an affirmative response to this call. 
Such a response, in part at least, we have already 
given. In 1847, when only the five consular ports 
were open to foreign intercourse, and while Christian- 
ity was still under the ban of the Chinese government, 
we established our China Mission ; and to the present 
hour, in the face of no ordinary difficulties and dis- 
couragements, the Church has never failed to give it 
cordial and generous support. It is evident, however, 
that to meet the present demands of China, mission- 
ary zeal and contributions must increase beyond all 

25 



386 APPEAL TO THE CHUECHES. 

modern precedent. Are we ready for this ad- 
vance ? 

"We have endeavored to present a clear and truth- 
ful picture of the character and demands of the field 
before us in China. "We have shown that its im- 
mense population are living " without God and with- 
out hope in the world ;" that by the recent treaties 
the entire empire is now thrown open to Christianity ; 
that, to give effect to these treaties, Christians must, 
at once and in earnest, avail themselves of all the 
privileges to which they are now entitled ; that the 
antagonistic forces of mammon, atheism, and Roman- 
ism are already in the field ; that the heart of Chris- 
tendom is now turned toward China with intense in- 
terest, and that other Churches are already preparing 
for the great struggle. We have shown also, by re- 
liable statistics, that our Church possesses at this mo- 
ment a superabundance of means to meet the de- 
mands of China without the slightest detriment to 
any of her home or other foreign interests. "What 
now is your response ? "We beg to urge this subject 
upon your attention. Its importance and urgency 
justify our boldness and importunity. "We entreat 
you, by your regard for the name and honor of God ; 
by your sympathy with Christ, in his great work of 
saving a lost world; by your compassion for one 
third of the human race, destitute of the blessed Gos- 
pel ; by your oft-repeated vows of consecration to the 
service of God ; by your love for the Church of your 
choice ; by your desire for an approving conscience in 
the last mortal agony, and by your hopes of heaven ; 
by all these motives and considerations we entreat 



DUTY OF THE CHUECH. 387 

you, members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
turn not away from the supplicating wail of the per- 
ishing 400,000,000 of China ; turn not away from the 
voice of God, now solemnly calling you to this field ; 
falter not in this hour of crying need to the cause of 
Christ in the world ! Shall it be told in Gath, shall 
it be published in the streets of Askelon, that the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, with a membership of 
nearly a million, and an estimated annual income for 
purposes of evangelism of more than three millions of 
dollars, refuses to furnish annually the sum of, say 
$250,000 for the evangelization of China ? 

But the Church must go as well as give. The 
spirit of consecration to this work must come upon 
the ministry of our Church with unprecedented defin- 
iteness and force. And yet, after all, what a mere 
fraction of our ministry is demanded for China! 
Over six thousand traveling and over seven thousand 
local preachers in the Methodist Episcopal Church 
minister to a membership of about a million ; while, 
for our entire work in China, we have estimated 
only one hundred and eighty-four missionaries. We 
appeal to the thirteen thousand preachers of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, and to the hundreds of 
young men in our communion whose minds are 
turned toward the Christian ministry, and we ask, 
How long shall the perishing millions of China plead 
in vain for one hundred and eighty-four Methodist 
missionaries to break unto them the bread of life ? 
Are there not in the ranks of the Methodist ministry, 
or among the candidates for that ministry, one hund- 
red and eighty-four capable and willing men to give 



388 APPEAL TO THE CHURCHES. 

themselves to the cause of God in China ? We beg 
respectfully and earnestly to put this question to all 
the students in Methodist seminaries, colleges, and 
universities; to all our theological students at Con- 
cord, Evanston, or elsewhere; to all our traveling 
and local preachers ; to all our presiding elders ; to 
all our Church editors ; to all our ministerial profess- 
ors and presidents in institutions of learning; and 
finally to our bench of bishops. We should like to 
propound it in our preachers' meetings, in all our 
annual conferences, and in the General Conference 
of our Church. When God, by a series of wonder- 
ful providences, has opened up the Chinese empire 
to Christianity, and when, in one year, he has added 
hundreds of thousands of converts to the Churches in 
the United States, is it true that out of the thirteen 
thousand preachers of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church it is impossible to obtain one hundred and 
eighty-four missionaries for China? Shall we throw 
open the doors of our churches and proclaim this fact 
in the ears of the mocking infidel and scoffing liber- 
tine ? or in the presence of the Jesuitical emissaries 
of that Church whose boast is that her temples and 
missions girdle the globe ? Shall we pass beyond the 
limits of Christendom and proclaim it to the millions 
of heathen perishing for lack of knowledge ? Suf- 
fer, brethren, the word of exhortation. We must, 
we must awake to the subject ! we must listen to the 
call China now sends to us across the waters! we 
must consecrate ourselves to the work of the Chris- 
tian ministry among the people of China ! 

What shall be done ? We invoke the aid of the 



SPECIAL APPEAL. 389 

pulpit. Man of God! we charge you to sound the 
alarm on this great subject. Bring it before every 
congregation you address, and see to it that your 
trumpet gives no uncertain sound. We invoke the 
aid of the forty-six thousand class-leaders of our 
Church! Take the subject with you to the class- 
room ; speak of it, pray over it. Come up yourself 
to the proposed standard of systematic giving, and 
then urge, persistently urge every member of your 
class to do the same. We invoke the aid of the 
press ! We appeal to every Methodist editor, and to 
that large and influential class of writers who quar- 
terly, monthly, and weekly discourse, through the 
press, to the thousands of our Zion, and we say, Plead 
for China! Circulate information on the subject! 
arouse the conscience of the Church ! and, if circum- 
stances favor, add example to precept and offer your- 
selves for the work of God in China. Finally, we 
appeal to the nine hundred thousand members of our 
Church. Hear the Saviour's command to you : " Go 
ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to 
every creature!" What says it? Go! What say 
the signs of the times? Go! What -say the wants 
of China ? Go ! Go, then, either in your own per- 
son, or in the persons of those whom your missionary 
contributions aid to send and support as foreign mis- 
sionaries ! 

We now present some of the considerations which 
we think should induce the Church to give China the 
system of immediate evangelism to which we have 
referred. We cannot expect, within the small space 
remaining to us, to present all the important aspects 



390 APPEAL TO THE CHUECHES. 

of this subject ; our remarks must necessarily be of 
an eclectic character. 

First, we notice obedience to Christ's command, 
" Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to 
every creature," as a consideration that should have 
great weight with the Church in deciding this ques- 
tion. We have no time now to argue the question 
of the Church's duty with regard to this high com- 
mission. Alas for her and for the world if she has 
yet to learn its grand scope and meaning ! We have 
supposed that the great body of Christians in our day 
accept the literal import of the Saviour's command, 
with all its vast responsibilities, and are honestly 
seeking to know their present duty with reference to 
its execution. We have shown that China is now 
fairly and completely open to the Gospel ; that the 
present time is apparently her day of grace ; that the 
tendencies of the age corroborate the teachings of 
Scripture on this subject, and that auspicious omens 
cheer the Church in girding herself for the battle. 
In view, then, of these recognized facts and claims, 
we put to every Christian the solemn question : Will 
you obey our Saviour's last command ? will you now, 
according to your ability, aid in the evangelization 
of China ? will you ? We protest against indifference 
on this subject. It is no time for evasion or procras- 
tination. The inevitable conflict is at hand; mo- 
mentous issues are just before us, and the hour has 
come for action, instant, bold, decisive action. Dare 
not to dismiss this subject from your thoughts. We 
appeal from the caviling of the advocate to the calm- 
ness of the judge, from the subterfuges of the carnal 



, NAME AND HONOR OF GOD. 391 

mind to the dictates of an enlightened Christian con- 
science, and we ask, Will yon at once come up to the 
measure of your duty with reference to this important 
subject ? 

Secondly ', a regard for the name and honor of God 
should now impel the Church to engage in this work. 
~No Christian can be insensible to the force of this 
consideration. To him the name and honor of God 
are infinitely precious. He prefers them to all the 
treasures of earth, and guards them with a ceaseless 
vigilance. Is it nothing, then, to him to know that 
in China this holy name is openly and maliciously 
given to reproach ? that among the myriads of that 
land the names designating the triune God are con- 
temned, and his honor trampled in the dust? We 
appeal to you, O Christian, on this subject, with an 
intensity of feeling that finds but feeble expression in 
these words. You can no longer plead ignorance in 
extenuation of indifference. Christendom is now 
ringing with indignant protests against this defiant 
sacrilege. The pens and tongues of scores of devoted 
missionaries are electrifying all hearts with disclos- 
ures on this subject, more painful and startling than 
any with which "Peter the Hermit" ever thrilled 
the hearts of the faithful. 

Thirdly, sympathy for the perishing millions of 
China should rouse the Church to instant action in 
their behalf. China's claim to this sympathy, we 
conceive, is predicated of her spiritual or moral, 
rather than of her physical destitution. Bad as hen 
social condition confessedly is, fearful as are her phys- 
ical wants, they are as nothing when compareol with 



392 



APPEAL TO THE CHURCHES. 



her moral destitution. It is utterly impossible to 
form an adequate conception of this subject; the 
mind is alternately bewildered and sickened in the 
effort to grasp it. HSTo one can think of China's 
immense population, the depths of guilt and pollu- 
tion into which they have sunk, and the awful doom 
awaiting them in eternity, without a painful con- 
sciousness of the utter impotence of human language 
to convey a complete description of her true condi- 
tion. Such an appeal was never before made to the 
heart of the Church. She cannot, we think, hear 
this appeal with indifference ; she dare not drive 
from her altars the supplicating millions of China. 

Fourthly, the essentially aggressive, character of 
Christianity should constrain the Church to meet, at 
once and fully, the present demands of China. It is 
unnecessary, we conceive, in this connection, to fur- 
nish proof of the statement that Christianity is essen- 
tially aggressive, that progress is the inherent law of 
its existence. No truth is traced more legibly than 
this in the original charter of its being, or can be 
more thoroughly substantiated by the great facts of 
its history, or more certainly deduced from the pre- 
dicted glories of its future triumphs. The Church, 
as the representative of Christianity, is impelled by 
her organic elements to action, instant, ceaseless 
action. With her mere conservatism is deteriora- 
tion, inaction is defeat, and passivity is atrophy. By 
every consideration and aspect of duty she is bound 
to a spirit of indomitable enterprise and sleepless 
vigilance in the discharge of her high commission. 
She must stand ready, with all her resources of 



CHRISTIANITY AGGRESSIVE. 393 

energy, faith, and means, to enter every open door 
for the propagation of the Gospel. "Woe to her if she 
prove recreant to her sacred trnst ! woe to her if she 
turn away from, the cries of those ready to perish ! 
woe to her if, like the great Carthagenian, she find 
her Capua this side the Tiber and the seven hills! 
The present crisis calls for that spirit of immediate, 
triumphant evangelism which thrilled the heart of the 
primitive Church. Alas for the world if this call is 
unheeded by the Church in our day ! The scoffing 
infidel could ask no more convincing proof that she 
has passed into a fearful decadence of faith and 
energy, that she has lost her ancient spirit of battle 
and conquest, and is utterly unworthy both of the 
high character she claims, and of the glorious destiny 
to which she aspires. 

Lastly, a regard for her own safety should induce 
the Church to supply this evangelism. The present 
times are fraught with danger to the Church of 
Christ. Omitting from our view those perils which 
are patent and appreciable to home observers, we 
wish now to notice a source of danger which has not 
as yet attracted the attention of the Church. We 
have already referred to the frightful social demorali- 
zation of the Chinese, and to the immense and grow- 
ing commerce which they carry on with foreign coun- 
tries. This trade is conducted chiefly by England 
and the United States. It would startle Christians of 
the United States to learn the amount of American 
capital and the vast network of American mercantile 
interests identified with this trade. It would startle 
them to be told how much of the wealth that glitters 



394 APPEAL TO THE CHUKCHES. 

in Kew York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and 
Charleston, or finds its way into the interior of the 
country, has been drawn from China. It would 
startle them to know the extent to which, even now, 
American sentiments, tastes, and habits are influenced 
by this Oriental heathenism, and it would astound 
them to discover at how many points the civilization 
of China and the United States are approximating 
each other. It is not our design or wish to denounce 
our trade with China; but we do wish to send out 
this distinct voice of warning to ring through the 
Churches of our land. We mean to call the attention 
of the Church to the subject, and we are bold to 
declare our solemn conviction that, unless Christians 
bestir themselves, the commerce of the United States 
with the far East will prove to her a sink of unutter- 
able infamy; its atmosphere will be more deadly 
than the simoon of the desert ; and at this moment 
we are prepared, in the presence of Christendom, to 
inscribe over its portal, " This way ruin lies !" The 
Church must give her earnest attention to this sub- 
ject; it is at her peril she hesitates or delays. A 
conflict, more fierce and protracted than any through 
which the Church has ever yet borne her triumphant 
banner, is approaching. The enemy, victorious on 
his own soil, now boldly and defiantly scales the 
bulwarks of Christendom, and plants his standard 
within the shadow of the cross. Is it not time for 
the Church to marshal her forces and gird herself for 
the war % Rise, then, ye men of God ! Go forth to 
this great battle, and plant your standards on the 
ramparts of heathenism. 



ADDENDUM. 



CHRISTIAN CHINESE WEDDING. 

The following account of a Christian Chinese wedding near 
Fuhchau, China, will doubtless interest the reader. It is from 
the pen of an American missionary at Fuhchau, and was origin- 
ally published in the "American Presbyterian." 

"My invitation to the wedding, given in the name of tbe eld- 
est living paternal uncle of the bridegroom, was received on New 
Year's day. It consists of a red piece of paper, nine and a half 
by four and a half inches. On one side was written, in Chinese, 
of course, the name of said uncle, the nephew to be married, the 
time selected, and a few other items, all in Chinese style, invit- 
ing me to ' enlighten ' the occasion by my presence. This card 
was inclosed in an unsealed envelop of red paper, ten inches by 
five and a half. My Chinese name was written on a narrow 
slip of red paper, extending the whole length of the envelop and 
attached to it at the top and bottom. All those who receive such a 
formal invitation to a wedding, whether they attend or not, are 
expected to make a present of money to the bridegroom, which 
goes toward defraying expenses. 

"Among tbe foreigners who accepted their invitations were 
two missionary ladies* and the Eev. Otis Gibson, a member of 
the American Methodist mission, located at this city, who had 
been invited to perform the marriage ceremony in accordance 
with the principles of the Christian religion. "We went on 
board the Chinese boat furnished to take us a part of the way, 
about half past four o'clock in the morning. We had provided 
ourselves with provisions for a cold breakfast to be eaten on the 
boat, to which we did ample justice. The boat was propelled 



396 ADDENDUM. 

by Chinamen, who rowed standing, as Chinese usually do. The 
tide was favorable, and we made good progress. We reached 
the landing-place about day-break, distant from Fuhchau some 
eight or nine miles. But here we were disappointed in ascer- 
taining that the coolies who were to be in readiness to carry the 
sedan chair, brought thus far in the boat for the accommodation 
of the ladies, were nowhere to be found. The original plan was 
for the ladies to walk and ride alternately from the landing 
place to the scene of the wedding. It was too late to send to 
the neighboring villages to endeavor to hire other bearers un- 
less we were willing to make a considerable delay, so the ladies 
undertook to walk the distance yet to be passed over, some four 
or five miles. Our way lay for a mile or more across a large 
paddy or rice field. The autumnal crop of rice had been har- 
vested, and some of the ground was covered with winter wheat, 
sown in beds, in drills, or in rows of hills about seven or eight 
inches apart. The wheat was already some eight or ten inches 
high, and presented a very fine appearance. After we had 
walked nearly three miles we succeeded in finding men who 
could carry the sedan chair when holding a living person, it 
having been brought on from the boat by one of the hands and 
another Chinaman. Those who carry the sedan well must have 
considerable practice and be trained to the work. The ladies 
now rode in turn for a short distance. Our path soon leaving 
the paddy fields led us along the side of a valley, and gradually 
became more and more inclined. We soon found ourselves in 
very romantic if not grand scenery; we were in the midst 
of lofty hills, covered principally with a kind of stinted pine, 
wild fern, and a singular species of very tall grass. On our left, 
a hundred or more feet below us, a small rivulet wound its way 
down toward the Mm. In due time, about half past eight 
o'clock, we arrived at the residence of the bridegroom, all de- 
lighted with the sublime beauty of the scepery around us. 

"We found a large company already assembled at the residence 
of the bridegroom. He and several of his family relatives were 
converts to Christianity, and were members of one of the native 
Churches connected with the Methodist mission. His intended 
bride was not a Church member. On inquiry we found she 
had been bought when a child, and had been brought up in the 
family as his betrothed wife. The custom of buying female chil- 



CHRISTIAN CHINESE WEDDING. 397 

dren, or of receiving them as gifts from their parents when quite 
young, and of bringing them up as the future wives of some of 
the boys in one 1 s family is very common among the poorer 
classes in Fuhchau and vicinity. It implies no particular dis- 
grace, but is an index of the low pecuniary circumstances of the 
family which buys or receives the girl thus to be brought up. 

" The ceremony was performed in a covered court, the recep- 
tion room of the house. A plain table was placed in the front 
part of it, and on it were set two old-looking goblets, tied 
together by a common red cotton string, about three or four 
feet long. The arrangements having been completed the bride- 
groom took his position, and the bride was led along by her 
bridesmaid, a married woman some forty years old. The par- 
ties stood facing the missionary clergyman. The foreign guests 
stood along the two sides of the court and in front on the 
outside. 

" The bridegroom was about twenty-six years old, of pleasant 
manners, dignified, and composed. He wore a pair of Chinese 
boots, the uppers of which were made of satin, and the Chinese 
cap of ceremony, which had a brass button and red silk tassels 
on its top. His outer garment was made of fine blue black silk 
and extended nearly to his feet. The bride was about nineteen, 
and seemed much discomposed during part of the ceremony. 
She belonged to the large-footed class of Chinese women, and 
of course her dress was made according to the fashion which 
prevails among such women at Fuhchau. Her shoes, worn on 
feet which were stockingless, were of black cotton cloth, em- 
broidered with red silk, having thick white soles and red silk 
tassels on the top. Her outside dress was made of black cotton 
cloth, and extended only a little below her hips. Beneath were 
pantaloons of the same color and same kind of material. Her 
costume resembled, in general, the Bloomer costume, more 
nearly than the popular style of ladies' dress in America. She 
wore no vail or bonnet, but had ear-rings about three inches in 
diameter. From the top of the hair on her head projected a 
metallic ornament, washed with gold, some six or eight inches 
long, resembling, as much as anything I can think of, the 
crooked end of some plow handles, or, as others say, a cow'8 
horn turned backward. Some ten or twelve artificial flowers, of 
several different kinds, were so arranged in a sort of wreath 



398 * ADDENDUM. 

around her head as to stick out three or four inches from her 
hair. 

" The minister commenced the services by giving out an accom- 
modated translation of the hymn familiarly called, in English, 
'The Happy Land,' and the Christian part of the congregation 
united in singing it as follows : 

' Tieng tong tu mo ku nang, nmang hok 1m tie, 

Ho neng chieng chieng uang uang, ing iew ]a Me,' etc. 

"He then proceeded to read the marriage ceremony of the 
Methodist Church, which had been translated, with some modi- 
fications, to meet some peculiarities in Chinese customs. The 
portion which challenges the audience to object now or never, 
if there were good grounds of objection, to the marriage of the 
parties, was wisely omitted, in view of the fact that they had 
been engaged for quite a number of years, as all their acquaint- 
ances knew. In the estimation of the Chinese friends such a 
challenge would be eminently ridiculous and unnecessary. When 
that portion was reached which, in the original form, requires 
the parties to join their hands in token of their willingness to 
take and acknowledge each other as husband and wife, the reading 
was suspended for a moment. A person stepped forward with 
some hot Chinese wine in a small stone pitcher, and poured a 
portion of its steaming contents into the two goblets standing on 
the tabfe by them, and tied together by the red string. These 
goblets were then taken by the bridesmaid, one in each hand, 
who first presented one to the mouth of the bridegroom, who 
sipped a little of the wine, but without touching the goblet with 
his hands, and then held the other to the lips of the bride, who 
sipped some in a similar manner. This drinking of wine from 
these goblets, which is a Chinese custom, invariably practiced at 
marriages among themselves, was substituted in. place of the 
parties taking each other by the hand. 

"All the parties (bridegroom, bride, and clergyman) knelt 
down in their places, while the reading of the ceremony was 
continued to the end. A long meter doxology was sung in con- 
clusion. The husband made, slowly and respectfully, a low bow 
toward his wife, which compliment she returned, by the assist- 
ance of the bridesmaid, by bowing thrice toward him. They 
then retired to the bride's room, accompanied by some of their 
relatives and friends, and the company broke up. 



CHRISTIAN CHINESE WEDDING. 399 

" As soon as convenient several tables were arranged in the 
court where the ceremony had been performed, for breakfast for 
the male portion of the guests. I noticed five square tables, 
which seated forty persons, each table accommodating eight 
guests. In a room in another part of the house two or three 
similar tables were spread for the entertainment of the female 
guests. The sexes never eat together on public festive occasions. 
It is said that about one hundred guests were expected to break- 
fast. Some might have been entertained in another place, not 
observed by us. 

" "We foreigners were provided with an entertainment of the 
foreign fashion. It seems that one or two young men, who had 
lived in missionary families, and who knew how to provide food 
for foreigners, had been engaged to prepare breakfast for us. 
We had sausages, roast chicken, pork chops, boiled pork, ham 
and eggs, rice and potatoes, wheat bread, with fruit, figs, dates, 
two kinds of oranges, etc. The bridegroom, with his cap of cer- 
emony still on his head, did us the honor to sit down with us, 
and testified to the quality of the provisions and the keenness of 
his appetite by eating very heartily. He managed foreign knives 
and forks much more dexterously than we should have managed 
chopsticks under similar circumstances. The bride during part 
of the meal sat down at our table, but remained in perfect 
silence, and could not be prevailed upon to eat a morsel, which 
taciturnity and fasting were in complete accordance with the 
rules of Chinese etiquette on such occasions. To attribute her 
conduct to moroseness or displeasure would be doing her mani- 
fest injustice,, for she evidently enjoyed the dinner. Several 
times she came very near laughing outright on catching a glimpse 
of some of her female friends in an adjoining room, who were 
looking at our company. But she strove to maintain her grav- 
ity, for to laugh would have been as much out of the way as to 
eat heartily, according to Chinese notions of propriety. 

" We were cheered by what we saw and what we heard at the 
marriage yesterday, in the country, in proof of the Christian char- 
acter of the household. They greeted us as Christians on our 
arrival. We heard no improper language, nor did we see any 
traces^ of heathenism remaining about the premises. We ob- 
served, with great satisfaction, that around three sides of the 
reception room, or the court where the ceremony was performed, 



400 ADDENDUM. 

there were suspended from the walls seven large paper hangings, 
on which were written, in large characters, quotations from the 
Old and New Testaments. One of these, some four or five feet 
wide by seven or eight feet long, contained a translation of the 
Ten Commandments, the characters for which were written in 
a bold and beautiful style. On most of the posts of the house, 
and on the doorposts, we noticed also that a large number of 
pieces of red paper had been pasted up, containing sentiments, 
prepared in Chinese style and according to Chinese taste, allud- 
ing to the Bible or to the truths of the Bible. They reminded 
us of the command recorded in Deuteronomy vi, 9. They con- 
sisted of couplets of five or seven characters in each line, written 
on slips of paper several feet long and a few inches wide, and 
were substituted for the heathen sentiments or quotations from 
the Chinese classics which formerly occupied their place. For 
example, on the posts of the doors of the bride's room was posted 
up a couplet, which taught that 'males and females ought to 
learn the true doctrine,' and that 'children and grandchildren 
should listen to the Gospel.' 

" There being no necessity for a longer visit, we started on 
our way back to the river about eleven o'clock, the ladies walk- 
ing the whole distance. We stopped for a short time about half 
of the way, at a place where the Methodist mission have an out- 
station* A young native exhorter is living there with his family. 
That mission are building there a small substantial chapel, 
assisted by a voluntary contribution of some available material 
and two hundred and seventy days' work from the native con- 
verts living in that vicinity — a large amount, considering their 
great poverty. Just before we left we had a season of prayer, 
suggested by one of the native brethren." 



THE END. 



May 15.: 

.• r '<-:;-!.*r'\. 



yBRARY OF CONGRESS 

027 531 899 1 



